John Wells (1789–1864), was an English-born

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who had his works displayed at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in the 1820s. He is best known for his work in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, most notably the

Bank of Montreal Head Office The Bank of Montreal's Head Office () is located on 119, rue Saint Jacques (119, Saint Jacques Street) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, across the Place d'Armes from the Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal), Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Montreal neighbo ...

and St. Anne's Market, that afterwards housed the Parliament Buildings at Montreal. Wells was born at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, where he trained as a carpenter. He worked on the facade of St Mary Moorfields in

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 ...

, after which he became an

, displaying his works at the

in 1823 and 1828. Exploiting the rapid growth and population boom, he came to

in about 1830. His first commission was to erect the new prison, and afterwards he constructed the Ste. Ann's Market (1832), that stood until the Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal. In 1834, he was commissioned by

John Redpath John Redpath (1796 – March 5, 1869) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec, the largest and most prosperous city in Canada. Early years In 1796, John Red ...

and

Peter McGill Peter McGill (August 1789 – September 28, 1860) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman who served as the second mayor of Montreal from 1840 to 1842. Biography He was born Peter McCutcheon in the village of Creebridge, Wigtownshire (now Dum ...

to design and build a new home for St. Paul's Presbyterian Church. He completed several religious buildings for all denominations, including

Chalmers-Wesley United Church Chalmers-Wesley United Church is a Protestant church located within the walls of Old Quebec at 78, rue Sainte-Ursule in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Designed by architect John Wells for the Free Presbyterian Church of Canada, the church was built ...

, and his personal popularity won him private commissions for some of Montreal's leading figures within the

Golden Square Mile The Golden Square Mile (, ), also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Ca ...

- such as the Notman House (1845) and Prince of Wales Terrace, completed in 1860 for Sir George Simpson. His biography in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

, states that "due to the disappearance of a majority of his works, he has been overlooked as the arbiter of architectural taste in early Victorian Montreal".Biography of John Wells in the Canadian Encyclopedia
/ref> He died at

April 26, 1864, and was survived by at least one son (G.H. Wells) and one daughter (Mrs Deborah Wadsworth).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, John 1789 births 1864 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from Norwich 19th-century Canadian architects English emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people