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

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

for the majority of his life. He was twice

RIBA 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 supp ...

president (1935–37 and 1943–46).

Biography

Percy Edward Thomas was born on 13 September 1883 in South Shields, County Durham, the son of a sea captain from Narberth in Pembrokeshire, with whom the family often travelled. The family moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

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 constructing building ...

on advice from a

phrenologist Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

. In 1903 he won the architecture competition at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

. 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 organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

building in Merthyr Tydfil (built 1911), which was an important step in developing his career. The building was designed in an

Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

style in red brick and yellow terracotta, and later become the

Mid Glamorgan County Council Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Gover ...

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 or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (11 May 1880 – 16 June 1944) was a Welsh Liberal politician and public benefactor who was MP for Montgomeryshire from 1906 to 1929. He was a grandson of the great Welsh industrialist David Davies. As a ph ...

of Llandinam, to design the Temple of Peace in

Cathays Park Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the 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 i ...

. As a designer of civic buildings, such as Central Police Station, Bristol,

Swansea Guildhall The Guildhall ( cy, Guildhall Abertawe) is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall (concert hall) and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a ...

(1930–34), Swinton & Pendlebury Town Hall, 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. 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 supp ...

in 1935 (until 1937) and awarded their

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

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 Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

. The practice lasted for 94 years and ultimately became known as the

Percy Thomas Partnership Percy Thomas Partnership was the trading name of the award-winning British architectural practice established some time between 1965 and 1973 as the successor to a series of earlier partnerships originally set up by Percy Thomas (1883–1969) in Car ...

. 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 ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

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

Capita Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, 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 K ...

, 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
{{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

Biography

Percy Thomas Partnership

See also

References

Sources