Arthur Cogswell was born in 1858 in Peterborough, lived in Southsea from 1882 and died in 1934 in Portsmouth, a city he had much responsibilty for helping rebuild. From the 1870s, he designed local cinemas, pubs including "The Pompey" next door to Fratton Park, the Club's Tudor Pavilion offices and dressing rooms, local shops, a library and housing.
The Brickwood Pub (below), near to the stadium, was named after the local Brewery owner, John Brickwood, Cogswell's friend. It was also one of his designs.
In April 1898 Portsmouth FC was sited on Portsea Island, an "isthmus" (which gives you the opportunity to sort out what this means) and it is the only stadium not on the mainland island of Britain. The stadium sits on an old potato field in Milton. The photo below shows its low lying site.
The "Pavilion" shown below, at Fratton Park, in Frogmore Road was designed by Cogswell in 1905.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=IbycRPUeT6c
In 1925, the Grand Stand and club pavilion was cleared to make way for an "Archibald Leitch" (below) Stand in Frogmore Road, one of many of his great grandstands in UK Football Leagues which may be found at Highbury, Ayresome Park, Anfield, Bramall Lane, Craven Cottage, Glasgow Rangers to name a few.
Cogswell was founder of the Portsmouth Amateur FC, whose goalkeeper was A.C.Smith, who will mean nothing to you but with some careful detection, you will decipher that this man was actually Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (below), who played in goal for the club. He also turned out at cricket occasionally for the MCC (1st class), The Authors' XI which included AA Milne, JM Barrie and PG Woodhouse and as an occasional bowler, Doyle once bowled out WG Grace, his one 1st Class wicket!
He also boxed, played golf at Crowborough Beacon GC and entered the English Amateur Billiard Championships in 1913.
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