Sir Percy Edward Thomas OBE (13 September 1883 – 19 August 1969) was an Anglo-Welsh architect who worked in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

for the majority of his life. He was twice

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

president (1935–37 and 1943–46).

Biography

Percy Edward Thomas was born on 13 September 1883 in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, the son of a sea captain from Narberth in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, with whom the family often travelled. The family moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

during the 1890s and Captain Thomas died at sea in 1897. Percy Thomas began work in a shipping office, but changed to a career in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

on advice from a phrenologist. In 1903 he won the architecture competition at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

. After several years working in England, he began collaborating with Ivor Jones of Cardiff, and they went into partnership in 1913. Thomas won the competition for the design of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

building in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

(built 1911), which was an important step in developing his career. The building was designed in an Edwardian Baroque style in red brick and yellow terracotta, and later become the Mid Glamorgan County Council education offices, and housed the gym of the champion boxer Eddie Thomas. It is a

Grade II Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, but has been in poor condition since the 1980s, and was in danger of collapse in 2022. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Thomas joined the Artists Rifles in 1915, and served on the Western Front. After the war he returned to Cardiff. He was commissioned by David Davies, 1st Baron Davies of Llandinam, to design the Temple of Peace in

Cathays Park Cathays Park () or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the Cardiff City Centre, city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It ...

. As a designer of civic buildings, such as Central Police Station, Bristol, Swansea Guildhall (1930–34), Swinton & Pendlebury Town Hall (1938, co-designed with Ernest Prestwich), Lancashire and Hiatt Baker Hall, Bristol (1966), he was a rival to Arthur John Hope. Other works by him included the campus of

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

. He was elected 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 ...

in 1935 (until 1937) and awarded their Royal Gold Medal in 1939. He was knighted in 1946. Percy Thomas became seriously ill in 1962, retiring from the company in 1963. He died on 19 August 1969.

Percy Thomas Partnership

The company established by Percy Thomas was based in Cardiff, and put its name to several landmark buildings in Wales and England, the most recent being the Wales Millennium Centre. The practice lasted for 94 years and ultimately became known as the Percy Thomas Partnership. In June 2004 Percy Thomas Partnership went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

after cancellations or delays of key projects. They were bought by the large British outsourcing company,

Capita Capita plc is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United Kingdom, with an overall ma ...

, who created a new arm of their property consultancy division called Capita Percy Thomas.Gates, C. ''PFI fells Welsh giant'' Building Design, Issue 1630, 18 June 2004, p. 1

References

Sources

Welsh Biography Online

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Percy 20th-century Welsh architects Artists' Rifles soldiers 1883 births 1969 deaths Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects Architects from Cardiff Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People from South Shields Military personnel from Tyne and Wear British Army personnel of World War I

Biography

Percy Thomas Partnership

See also

References

Sources

External links