Our legacy
Our history is as rich and varied as any period drama, charting the Industrial Revolution, the demise of the British Empire, stock market crashes, two World Wars, and two global pandemics.
It is our legacy that has moulded the DNA of the business as we know it today; it informs our real sense of identity and drives us on to write our own chapter of the Gilling Dod story.
“In researching a century of our practice, it produced a new understanding of the significance and contribution of the practice to the lives of countless people and families.”
Allan Billinge (Director) - 1981
Founded in Liverpool’s bustling heart in 1882, Gilling Dod originally began as the brainchild of William Willink. Not long after, his good friend Philip Thicknesse came on board. Together, they dove into a world ripe with architectural opportunity. From grand country houses to financial institutions, civic buildings and commercial centres, they were driven by the soaring demand for new structures in Liverpool - a booming global economic powerhouse at the time.
- Parr’s Bank Building
- Netherwood House
- Queen Victoria Monument
- Goole Grammar School
- RMS Franconia ocean liner
- King William's College
1920 saw the death of Philip Thicknesse and the introduction of Harold Dod as a partner. As a decorated soldier from the First World War, Dod would end up being the sole partner for 25 years following the death of Willink in 1924. With the assentation of Malcolm Glyn Gilling to Partner in 1947, Gilling Dod and Partners was born. Although the faces may have changed over the years, the Gilling Dod name has remained.
- Cunard building
- Royal Exchange Assurance Company
- Harold Cohen Library
- Athenaeum Club
- Wallasey Central School
- Thor's Hill
With the creation of the NHS in 1948, and after a long and productive period based in Liverpool, a new chapter unfolded for us in the 1980s. Leaving our historic Cunard Building behind, we opened a fresh office in Chorley, Lancashire. This move was strategically aligned with our work on the New Royal Bolton Hospital - and allowed us to be closer to the project and our clients.
- Blackburn College of Technology & Design
- Cunard Building renovations
- Royal Exchange Assurance building
- Mersey Regional Centre for Radiotherapy
- Rank Building
- Royal Bolton Hospital
In the late 1990s, we settled into our current residence -The Cruck Barn, on the outskirts of Chorley. This modern design studio is the last remaining relic of Myles Standish Estate, linked to one of the founding Pilgrim Fathers. The Cruck Barn adds yet another backstory to our already rich history - and is as much a definition of our character and culture as the people themselves. It’s a great building to create great buildings in.
- Blackpool Victoria Hospital
- Sid Watkins Centre
- West Cumberland Hospital
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals
- Broadmoor Hospital
- Red Kite View
