Rowan Atkinson Family History

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on January 6th, 1955 to Eric and Ella Atkinson in Consett, county Durham.  He was the youngest of their four sons (one son having died during childbirth).  Rowan’s father owned a farm in Stocksfield, which was where the brothers grew up.  They would help out with the farm chores.

All three brothers attended Durham Choristers prep school where the future British Prime Minister Tony Blair also went.  While Rodney would later bury his head in politics, Rowan performed in school plays.

But Rowan was also fascinated by electronics and electical engineering.   And, following in his father’s footsteps, he studied for a BSc in Electrical Englineering at Newcastle Univerisity and an MSc. in the same subject at Oxford University.

His Career in Comedy.  Rowan’s career trajectory was to change in 1976 when he met  up with two Oxford colleagues – Richard Curtis and William Goodall.  They found his early mimed comedy skits both original and outrageous.  Soon Rowan and Richard were working together, combining Rowan’s miming with Richard’s verbalizing.

Rowan’s big break came in 1979 when he starred in the TV comedy show Not The Nine O’Clock News which became hugely popular.  His career advanced, although he did not seek the limelight.

There followed the roles for which Rowan has become best known:

• the TY Blackadder series, devised with Richard Curtis, where Rowan depicted cynically and humorously historical figures from the time of Queen Elizabeth to the First World War.  The series lasted from 1983 to 1989.
• the hapless Mr. Bean who first appeared on TV screens in 1990 and continued to appear for the next five years.  There followed two feature films, one in 1997 and another in 2007, and a comic appearance at the London 2012 Olympic Games, all of which brought him huge global recognition.
• then came the Johnny English film series which began in 2003.  Here Rowan played the part of a flash but incompetent spy in a parody of the James Bond films.

Rowan and Mr. Bean

Rowan told the following story when he was a guest on The Graham Norton Show.

“A few years ago I was in a Land Rover parts department near Peterborough.  And I was waiting a long time to get my Land Rover part.  I was standing around with a group of guys and I could see this guy squinting at me.

He came up to me after a while and said: ‘Excuse me, has anyone ever told you that you are the absolute spitting image of that Mr. Bean?’

So I said: ‘Actually I am the actor who plays Mr. Bean.’

He just laughed and remarked: ‘I bet you wished you were.’

And the more I tried to tell him that I was the person that he thought I resembled, the less he believed me.

He went on to say: ‘The resemblance is uncanny.  Have you ever thought of doing any lookalike work, such as stag nights or hen nights, as Mr. Bean? You could make an absolute fortune.’

He just refused to believe that I was Rowan Atkinson.”

North Yorkshire and Durham Roots

Rowan’s Atkinson forebears were first sighted in Kirkbymoorside, a market town in north Yorkshire – north of York and close to the North York Moors.

These Atkinsons were a prominent family in this market town during the 18th century.  George Atkinson was married there in 1802; as was his son George in 1841.  However, this latter George lost his wife in 1849.  He married again in 1852 and moved the family north to the village of Staindrop in county Durham.

Rowan’s Atkinson line in Durham ran as follows:

• George Atkinson (1818-1881) married to Esther Salmon
• William Atkinson (1857-1924) married to Mary Brannan
• Edward Atkinson (1887-1964) married to Edith Browell
• and Eric Atkinson (1916-1984), Rowan’s father, married to Ella Bainbridge.

William Atkinson above was recorded in Durham censuses as a clogger (i.e. a shoemaker) before starting up a fruit and vegetable business in Blackhill.

Durham Prosperity

William’s son Edward Atkinson was to turn the family fortunes around.  In the 1901 census Edward had been recorded as a young man assisting his father in his fruit and vegetable business.  It was slightly after this time that his younger brother Ernest decided to emigrate to Canada.

Edward fought in the First World War.  Like Ernest, he too went out to Canada.  He invested in cheap land there, stayed ten years, and returned a wealthy man.  He became a successful Durham businessman, buying a chain of cinemas as well as the Theatre Royal in North Shields.

His son Eric, Rowan’s father, fought in the Second World War.  He continued the family’s upward mobility – studying at Queen’s College, Oxford and becoming a Durham farmer and running several businesses.

Rowan Atkinson’s Family Tree