Thomas English (9 July 1820 – 17 December 1884) was a leading colonial architect in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Mayor of Adelaide This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Adelaide, a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia. The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of ninet ...

(1862–1863), and a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...

1865–1878 and 1882–1884.

Early life

Thomas English was born on 9 July 1820 in

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, England. His father, who had fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

against Napoleon, died when Thomas was three. He left England with his wife Margaret, and her brother Henry Brown, a builder, bound for the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

. They arrived in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on 11 January 1850 on the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

''Richardson'', which was under the command of English's brother James.

Public office

English was

from 1862 to 1863. He was Minister of Works, South Australia, and a member of the

from 1 March 1865 to 1 August 1878 and from 29 May 1882 till his death, and was Commissioner of Public Works in the John Hart Government from 23 October 1865 to March 1966, and in the

James Boucaut Sir James Penn Boucaut (;) (29 October 1831 – 1 February 1916) was a South Australian politician and Australian judge. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly on four occasions: from 1861 to 1862 for City of Adelaide, fro ...

Ministry from the latter date till 3 May 1867.

Architecture

Firms

English was for a time partner with brother-in-law Brown (28 August 1820 – 30 May 1881) in the building firm of English & Brown, (later Brown & Thompson), who developed the Glen Ewin quarry, the source of freestone for many of Adelaide's public buildings. They were first on

Carrington Street Carrington Street is a street in the south-eastern sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs east–west, from East Terrace to King William Street, blocked at Hutt Street and crossing Pulteney Street at Hurtle Square. It is on ...

, and later (1859) in

Waymouth Street Waymouth Street, often spelt as Weymouth Street in the early days, is an east–west street running between King William Street and West Terrace in the Adelaide city centre in South Australia. The street is named after Henry Waymouth, a foundi ...

. Their partnership was dissolved when English was elected to parliament in 1865. From 1865 until mid-February 1870, English practised as an architect on his own. From 19 February 1870 until 1873, he was in partnership with

Rowland Rees Rowland Rees (25 September 1840 – 13 October 1904) was an architect, civil engineer and politician in South Australia. Early life Rees was born in Gibraltar, the eldest son of Rowland Rees, of Sutrana House, Dover, and later alderman of B ...

, as English & Rees, Civil Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, of Temple Chambers, Currie Street. He then practised solo again until 1880.

George Klewitz Soward George Klewitz Soward (27 August 1857 – 21 February 1941) was an architect and politician in South Australia. he was a partner in the firm English & Soward from 1880 to 1925, renamed English, Soward & Jackman from 1926 to 1936. Among other bu ...

served his papers with English, then joined him in partnership in 1880 as

English & Soward George Klewitz Soward (27 August 1857 – 21 February 1941) was an architect and politician in South Australia. he was a partner in the firm English & Soward from 1880 to 1925, renamed English, Soward & Jackman from 1926 to 1936. Among other bu ...

at Albion Chambers,

, and then Barnard Chambers in

Currie Street Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

. English worked in the partnership until his death in 1884, when his son,

Joseph Wallace English Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, who had also been articled to the firm, was made a partner. This partnership continued until Joseph's death in 1927.

Works

English's work as architect included the new

Kent Town Brewery Kent Town Brewery was a brewery in Kent Town, a suburb adjacent to the city of Adelaide on its eastern side, in South Australia. Its original name was Logue's Brewery, after its first proprietor. History The brewery was founded on King Wil ...

buildings at the corner of

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes Ru ...

and Dequetteville Terrace,

Kent Town Kent Town is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters local government area. History Kent Town was named for Benjamin Archer Kent (1808 – 25 November 1864), a medical practition ...

, completed in 1876 for E. T. Smith. In August 1879, English called for tenders to undertake the construction work to rebuild the Crown and Anchor Hotel in

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. Its intersection with Pulteney Street is formed by Hindmarsh Squa ...

. A new two-storey building was constructed to replace the former single-storey building later that year to English's designs, costing around £1,534. English & Soward advertised for tenders for stabling at the rear of the building in March 1880. Between 1878 and 1881, Edwin Smith employed English and Soward to rebuild at least two hotels, the Old Colonist in

Angas Street Angas Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the Adelaide CBD, Nor ...

and the Torrens Arms in Kingswood, and design alterations to four others. Other works designed by English include: * Scots Church on North Terrace (built 1851; heritage-listed) *Office building for '' The Advertiser'', on the corner of

King William King William may refer to: People Bimbia * William I of Bimbia * William II of Bimbia () Britain and Ireland * William of England (disambiguation), multiple kings * William I, King of Scots (–1214), also known as William the Lion German Empir ...

and

s (built 1859; demolished 1958) *Additions to Glenelg Congregational Church (1870) *Various holiday and residential houses in Glenelg, including Glenara *Townsend House, for former mayor of Adelaide

William Townsend William Townsend may refer to: * William Townsend (mayor) (1821–1882), Australian politician * William Townsend (cricketer) (1821–1891), English cricketer and barrister * William Townsend (Oneida County, NY) (1848–1919), New York politician * ...

(built in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

in 1878 as the South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Brighton; continued as

CanDo4Kids CanDo4Kids is South Australia's oldest charity and works directly with children and Youth, young adults with sensory impairment disabilities, such as blindness and deafness, by focusing on what children "can do" and helping them to reach their ...

Townsend House; state heritage-listed) *Princess Berkeley Hotel,

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

, Adelaide (built 1878 for

T. G. Waterhouse Thomas Greaves Waterhouse JP (22 January 1811, Conisborough,Conisborough is/has also been known as Conisbrough and Conisburgh. Yorkshire – 9 October 1885, London) was a businessman, investor and philanthropist in early colonial South Austr ...

) * Bath Hotel, Norwood, built around 1881, locally heritage-listed in August 2000

Later life and legacy

Thomas English died at his residence in Parkside on 17 December 1884. The

Hundred of English The Hundred of English is a cadastral unit of hundred containing all or part of the localities of Brady Creek (also in Hundred of Apoinga), Robertstown (extends into both Hundreds of Apoinga and Bright), Rocky Plain, Geranium Plains (spans h ...

was named after English when it was proclaimed in 1866. It includes the towns of Robertstown and Point Pass in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the souther ...

of South Australia. Several of his buildings were heritage-listed and remain today.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Thomas Mayors and lord mayors of Adelaide 1884 deaths 1820 births Members of the South Australian Legislative Council People from Maryport English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian architects