THACKER, Alfred Dennis (1879-1938) was born in Walsall, England on 12 January 1879 and educated at Queen Mary's High School in that town. From March 1894 to August 1896 he articled with S. Luxton in Walsall and completed his apprenticeship with Charles E. Bateman, a leading Edwardian architect in Birmingham. During this period he also attended classes at the Birmingham School of Art and served as assistant master at the Birmingham and Five Counties Architectural Association. After emigrating to Canada in 1910 he was employed as draftsman for Ross & MacFarlane in Montreal, for Chapman & McGiffin in Toronto, and later returned to Montreal to work for Brown & Vallance and for MacVicar & Heriot. He began his own practice in 1926 and received several commissions from the United Church of Canada to design small churches, usually in a neo-Gothic style, in suburban Montreal and nearby towns. A notable exception was his winning design for the First Church of Christ Scientist (1928) which blended Moorish and Romanesque features in a unique stepped configuration which exploited the steeply sloping site on Cote des Neiges Road.
In 1932 Thacker was one of seventeen Canadians to submit an entry in the competition for the new headquarters of the Royal Inst. of British Architects in London. His scheme was a reserved and classically inspired temple with Renaissance detailing (Architect & Building News [London], 24 June 1932, 423, illus.), but it was not placed among the finalists. One of his last commissions was the design of new choir stalls and chancel furniture at All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Halifax. These were carried out by the Bromsgrove Guild of Canada and represent some of the finest carved modern Gothic work in Canada. Thacker died in Montreal on 26 September 1938 (obituaries in The Builder [London], clv, 7 Oct. 1938, 695; Royal Inst. of British Architects Journal, xlvi, 21 Nov. 1938, 102; R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Nov. 1938, 257; biog. and port. in the National Reference Book, iii, 1929-30, 423-4). The Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal holds a small collection of drawings by Thacker.
(works in Montreal unless noted)
CHAMBLY, QUE., additions and alterations to residence for W.J. Henderson, c. 1924 (Studio Year Book of Decorative Art [London], 1924, 71, illus.; list of works in National Reference Book, 1929-30, 423-4)
ROSEMOUNT UNITED CHURCH, 4th Avenue near Masson Street, 1926 (Gazette [Montreal], 24 May 1926, 5; list of works in National Reference Book, 1929-30, 423-4; dwg. at CCA; inf. Scott Edwards)
MONTREAL NORTH UNITED CHURCH, c. 1927 (list of works in National Reference Book, 1929-30, 423-4)
FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, Cote des Neiges Road at McGregor Avenue, designed 1928; built 1929; additions 1939 by Shorey & Ritchie (R.A.I.C. Journal, v, June 1928, 213, 215, illus.; C.R., xlii, 3 Oct. 1928, 59; Gazette [Montreal], 1 Dec. 1928, 14, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
STOCK'S SERVICE STATION, Sherbrooke Street West at Melrose Avenue, 1928 (Montreal Daily Star, 10 March 1928, 28, illus.; C.R., xlii, 18 July 1928, 22, illus. in advert.; dwg. at CCA, Montreal)
CHAMBLY, QUE., residence for Percy Warrington, c. 1928 (list of works in National Reference Book, 1929-30, 423-4)
POINTE CLAIRE, QUE., Valois United Church, Belmont Avenue at Queen Avenue, 1929 (Gazette [Montreal], 19 Aug. 1929, 4, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
RICE PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO, Sherbrooke Street West near Victoria Street, a conversion of a residential building into a studio for Charles Rice, 1930 (Gazette [Montreal], 3 May 1930, 14, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
DUNDEE, QUE., United Church, c. 1930 (list of works in obituary, R.I.B.A. Journal, xlvi, 21 Nov. 1938, 102)
CAUGHNAWAGA, QUE., Indian United Church, 1930 (list of works in obituary, R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Nov. 1938, 257; dwg. at CCA)
ZION UNITED CHURCH, Cartier Street near Gilford Street, 1931 (Gazette [Montreal], 21 July 1931, 4, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
HAMPSTEAD, QUE., Queen Mary Road United Church, Queen Mary Road at Finchley Road, 1931 (Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 138-9, illus.; dwgs. at CCA)
OUTREMONT, garage for McArthur Irwin Ltd., Bates Road, 1934 (Outremont b.p. 2955, 25 July 1934)
HALIFAX, N.S., All Saints Anglican Cathedral, choir stalls and chancel fittings, 1936 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, March 1938, 72)
OUTREMONT, residence for Gaston Chantel, Rockland Avenue, 1936 (Outremont b.p. 3081, 3 April 1936)
OUTREMONT, pair of houses for L.J. Beaudoin Ltd., Cote Ste. Catherine Road, 1936 (Outremont b.p. 3101, 2 June 1936)
COMPETITIONS
BREDEN NORTON, ENGL, Designs for Cottages, 1906. A. D. Thacker of Birmingham has one of several local architects who submitted plans and models in this open competition. His drawings were awarded First Prize of L 10.00 Sterling (Builders' Journal & Architectural Engineer [London], xxiv, 12 Sept. 1906, 128),
TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL, Model City Housing Co., 1920 (Gazette [Montreal], 6 Feb. 1920, 6). A total of 67 designs were sent in for this post-war housing competition, and A.D. Thacker received a First Prize of $150. for his plan for a detached 6-room house.