Frank Matcham was born on 22 November 1854 in Newton Abbot, Devon. He trained from the age of 14 in the Torquay office of architect George Bridgeman. He became well known as a theatre architect, building or rebuilding over 150 theatres in Great Britain between 1879 and 1912.
Matcham died at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex on 17 May 1920 and is buried in Highgate Cemetery.