John Wells-Thorpe

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John Wells-Thorpe
Born1928
Brighton, East Sussex, England
Died21 April 2019
EducationUniversity of Brighton
OccupationArchitect

John Arthur Wells-Thorpe OBE (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.

File:Church of the Ascension, Westdene.jpg
Church of the Ascension, Westdene, Brighton
File:St Patrick's RC Church, Woodingdean.JPG
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, formerly known as the Church of the Resurrection, Woodingdean
File:Holy Cross Church, Warren Road, Woodingdean.JPG
Holy Cross Church, Woodingdean
File:St Wilfrid's Church, Sherborne Road, Chichester.JPG
St Wilfrid's Church, Chichester
File:Hove Town Hall.JPG
Hove Town Hall

Biography

Early life

John Wells-Thorpe was born in 1928 in Brighton, East Sussex, England.[1][2] He attended the Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School.[3] He graduated from the University of Brighton (then called the Brighton College of Art), followed by three international scholarships to Rome, Northern Italy and Moorish Spain.[1][2]

Career

He designed the Church of the Ascension in Westdene, Brighton, in 1958.[1] From 1958 to 1959 he designed the Church of the Resurrection, now known as St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, in Woodingdean.[1] In 1968, he designed the Holy Cross Church in Woodingdean.[1] Five years later, in 1973, he added an extension to St Wilfrid's Church in Chichester.[1] In 1974, he designed Hove Town Hall.[2] He also designed a "relocatable church", a TV studio in the Arabian Desert, and financial headquarters next door to St Paul's Cathedral in London.[2] He served as vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects and president of the Commonwealth Association of Architects.[2][4] He also served on the advisory board of the BBC.[2] He was founding chair of South Downs Health NHS Trust.[2][4][5] In the 1995 New Year Honours he was appointed OBE for services to architecture.[6] He died on 21 April 2019 at the age of 90.[7]

Bibliography

  • Manser, Jose: "The NHS's quality provider. (National Health Service; John Wells-Thorpe, chairman of South Downs Health Trust)" in EMAP Architecture, 1994.[8]
  • Wells-Thorpe, John, Cho Padamsee: Old buildings: new uses, London : Commonwealth Association of Architects, c1983. Includes slides, sound cassette and booklet.[9]
  • Wells-Thorpe, John: "The emerging aesthetic—accident or design?" in Landscape Research, pp. 19–22, vol 13, issue 2, 1988.[10]
  • Wells-Thorpe, John: 'Healing by Design: Feeling Better?', in The Healing Environment, eds. Deborah Kirklin, Ruth Richardson, London: Royal College of Physicians, 2003.[11]
  • 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. ISBN 9781846243752.[12][13]

References