Dunn was born in Wylam, Northumberland. His father was Matthias Dunn, a mining engineer and manager and one of the first Government Inspectors of Mines for the North East of England. Archibald Dunn was educated at Ushaw College and Stonyhurst College. He then went to Bristol to be apprenticed to architectCharles Francis Hansom, the younger brother of Joseph Aloysius Hansom, the inventor of the Hansom cab and founder of The Builder. It was here that Dunn met his future partner Edward Joseph Hansom, the son of his employer. Their principal works in North East England include the tower and spire of St Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, and the church of St. Michael in Elswick, Tyne and Wear. Dunn was also a prominent local landowner. Across the valley from Prudhoe is Castle Hill House, which he designed and built as his own home in Wylam. Previously he had lived in Gateshead, where he was an Alderman, Mayor and a Justice of the Peace for County Durham. In 1870 Dunn was President of the Northern Architectural Association. In 1862 Dunn married Sara Armstrong, an author. They both enjoyed travel, and in 1886 Dunn published a book entitled Notes and Sketches of an Architect, which was a collection of sketches made in France, Germany, Spain and England. Dunn's son, Archibald Manuel Dunn, was taken into partnership of the firm in 1887, and it became Dunn, Hansom & Dunn. In 1894, W. Ellison Fenwicke also became a partner in the firm. In 1903, the younger Dunn withdrew. Fenwicke continued to run the firm with various partners and under various styles, the final practice being Dunn Hansom & Fenwicke although Fenwicke by then was the only active partner. Dunn retired between 1883 and 1887. In 1901 the Dunns moved to Wood House, Branksome Park, in Bournemouth, where he died on 17 January 1917 aged 85.
Buildings designed by Dunn
1854 Saint Mary’s RC Church, Blackhill 1858 National School, Blyth 1858 St. Andrew’s Cemetery, Hexham 1858 St. Joseph’s RC Church, Gateshead 1860 St Anthony of Padua RC Church, Walker, Newcastle 1858 Our Lady and St Wilfrid RC Church, Blyth 1869 St George’s RC Church, Bells Close, Lemington 1873 Saint Dominic’s RC Church, Newcastle 18?? St. Nicholas’ Cemetery, Newcastle. 1868 Prudhoe Hall, Prudhoe 1868 Mining Institute/Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle 1878 Castle Hill House, Wylam.
Dunn & Hansom
1860 Spire of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle 1873–1882 Transepts and base of tower, Downside Abbey, Somerset 1876 Saint Matthew’s School, South Road, Prudhoe 1882 Alterations to Pugin’s Chapel, Ushaw 1888 Lady Chapel, Downside Abbey
