William Mitcheson Timlin

William Mitcheson Timlin (1892-1943) was an architect and illustrator, who designed some of South Africa's most famous atmospheric theatres .

Also referred to as William M. Timlin in some sources.

Biography

Born William Mitcheson Timlin in 1892 in Ashington, Northumberland, the son of a colliery fireman, he attended Morpeth Grammar School. Showing a talent for drawing, he received a scholarship to the Armstrong College of Art in Newcastle. In 1910 he joined his parents in Kimberley, South Africa, where he began to work for the architectural firm of D.W. Greatbach (Daniel Westwood Greatbach, 1868-1925)[1], designer of, inter alia, the Theatre Royal in Kimberley in 1895).

In 1918 Timlin became a partner in the firm Greatbach and Timlin, taking over the firm in 1921 when Greatbach returned to England. The company would go on to design many theatre venues in South Africa over the years.

Timlin designed a number of important buildings in Kimberley including Kimberly Boys' High School while pursuing his interest in art, turning out a large number of watercolour fantasies in addition to oils, pastels, etchings and periodical illustrations. His work was regularly exhibited. He also wrote stories and composed music.

He remained in Kimberley for the rest of his life. A multi-talented man, he not only worked as an architect and interior designer, but produced and exhibited numerous paintings in watercolour, oil and pastel, as well as etchings and periodical illustrations. He also wrote stories and composed music.

He gained particular renown as a book illustrator, especially for his own highly regarded fantasy book The Ship that Sailed to Mars: a Fantasy (George Harrap, 1923, new edition by Stonewall Publications, 1993.) It was started as a diversion for his son in 1921, but the work expanded until in its final form the book became a fantasy classic and the film rights were purchased in the United States.

He also illustrated many South African travel books and prepared illustrations for a book titled The Building of a Fairy City which was never published.

He died in Kimberley, Northern Cape in 1943.

His impact on theatre design

Besides his designs for a number of important buildings in Kimberley and elsewhere, including Kimberly Boys' High School, Timlin also designed or helped on the interior design of, many performance venues, buildings that included the Plaza Kinema in Kimberley (for Kinemas Limited, 1928), The Playhouse in Durban and, notably, supplied the architect P. Rogers Cooke with the interior designs for two highly regarded atmospheric theatres, namely The Alhambra (Cape Town, 1931) and The Colosseum (Johannesburg, 1933).

In addition, Timlin designed many theatre programmes and posters for productions put on in Kimberley.