Albert Reginald Powys

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1881–1936) was an architect and Secretary of the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

for some 25 years in the early 20th century.

Life

Powys was born into a large and notable literary family in 1881. Siblings included

John Cowper Powys John Cowper Powys (; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English philosopher, lecturer, novelist, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...

, Llewelyn Powys,

Theodore Francis Powys Theodore Francis Powys (20 December 1875 – 27 November 1953) – published as T. F. Powys – was a British novelist and short-story writer."Powys, Theodore Francis" in Christine L. Krueger, ''Encyclopedia of British Writers, 19th and 20th Ce ...

and

Philippa Powys Catharine Edith Philippa Powys (; 8 May 1886 – 11 January 1963) was a British novelist and poet, and a member of one of the most distinguished families in modern literature. Family She was born at Montacute in Somerset, where her father Rever ...

. Educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors ...

and then trained as an architect, Powys also served as the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient buildings for twenty-five years. He wrote an influential study of conservation practice, ''Repair of Ancient Buildings'', published in 1929. Among a number of restorations, he undertook much building and rebuilding at

Sissinghurst Castle Garden Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent in England, was created by Vita Sackville-West, poet and writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is design ...

for

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

and Harold Nicolson, where the Powys Wall in the Rose Garden was named in his honour. He designed the Godalming war memorial, another memorial in Leeds and that at Blo' Norton in Norfolk. All three are Grade II listed. Powys died in 1936 and is buried in the Church of St Andrew,

Winterborne Tomson Winterborne Tomson is a village in the district of North Dorset, Dorset, England. Overview The first name of "Winterborne" comes from the River Winterborne, which flows from west to east through the village. The river only flows overground dur ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, where a memorial plaque commemorates his life and his restoration of the church in 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powys, Albert 1881 births 1936 deaths 20th-century English architects People from Dorset People educated at Sherborne School Burials in Dorset