John Arthur Wells-Thorpe

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1928–2019) was an English architect. He is best known for the breadth of his design capability in both the UK and numerous locations overseas. Hove Town Hall

Biography

Early life

John Wells-Thorpe was born in 1928 in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England.Sussex Parish Churches
University of Brighton Faculty of Arts Hall of Fame: John Wells-Thorpe
He attended the Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School. He graduated from the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

(then called the Brighton College of Art), followed by three international scholarships to Rome, Northern Italy and Moorish Spain.

Career

He designed the Church of the Ascension in

Westdene Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is a northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 road, A23 (London Road) and the Brighton Main Line, London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean and northe ...

, Brighton, in 1958. From 1958 to 1959 he designed the Church of the Resurrection, now known as St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, in

Woodingdean Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse. The name Woodingdean came from Woodendean (i.e. wooded valley) Farm which was s ...

. In 1968, he designed the Holy Cross Church in Woodingdean. Five years later, in 1973, he added an extension to St Wilfrid's Church in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

. In 1974, he designed

Hove Town Hall Hove Town Hall is the headquarters of Brighton and Hove City Council. The current building was constructed in 1970 in the Brutalist style by John Wells-Thorpe, to replace the original 1882 Hall which was damaged by fire in 1966. Original tow ...

. He also designed a "relocatable church", a TV studio in the

Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert () is a vast desert wilderness in West Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula with an area of . It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the fourth largest desert in the ...

, and financial headquarters next door to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He served as vice-president of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

and president of the

Commonwealth Association of Architects The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), established in 1965, is a professional association of national architectural associations representing architects in Commonwealth countries. The stated purpose of the CAA is to "maximise the contri ...

.Design and Health: John Wells-Thompson
He also served on the advisory board of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He was founding chair of South Downs Health NHS Trust.John James
John Wells-Thorpe
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', January 07, 2004 In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other c ...

he was appointed OBE for services to architecture. He died on 21 April 2019 at the age of 90.

Bibliography

* Manser, Jose: "The NHS's quality provider. (National Health Service; John Wells-Thorpe, chairman of South Downs Health Trust)" in ''EMAP Architecture'', 1994. * Wells-Thorpe, John, Cho Padamsee: ''Old buildings: new uses'', London : Commonwealth Association of Architects, c1983. Includes slides, sound cassette and booklet. * Wells-Thorpe, John: "The emerging aesthetic—accident or design?" in ''Landscape Research'', pp. 19–22, vol 13, issue 2, 1988. *Wells-Thorpe, John: 'Healing by Design: Feeling Better?', in ''The Healing Environment'', eds. Deborah Kirklin, Ruth Richardson, London:

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, 2003. *Bryan Lawson, Michael Phiri and John Wells-Thorpe
The Architectural Healthcare Environment and its Effects on Patient Health Outcomes
NHS Estates, 2003. *Wells-Thorpe, John: 'Behind The Facade: An Architect At Large': Book Guild Publishing, 2009. .Visit Brighton: John Wells-Thompson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells-Thorpe, John 1928 births 2019 deaths Architects from Brighton Alumni of the University of Brighton English ecclesiastical architects Officers of the Order of the British Empire