Thomas Francis Ford (9 May 1891 – 11 January 1971) was a prolific ecclesiastical

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 ...

Diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

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 ...

for Southwark, an Ashpitel Prize winner at 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 ...

, founder of ''Thomas Ford Architects'', and with his brother Ralph, who owned the largest and most complete collection of English Bibles in England, a translator in 1948 of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

Early years

Ford was born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

on 9 May 1891 and educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in The Harpur Trust, born from the endowments left by Sir William Harpur in the six ...

. In 1908 he moved to London to study architecture and was initially apprenticed to a firm of architects before commencing studies at the Royal Academy School of Architecture in 1912. Ford's studies were interrupted by the advent of

World War I 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 ...

during which he was a conscientious objector on account of his religious faith. After the war, Ford resumed his studies and won the acclaimed Ashpitel Prize for top marks in his final

examinations in 1919.

Architectural career

Ford's architectural career began in the office of W A Forsyth where he was briefly a partner before starting his own architectural practice in 1926, initially concentrating on commercial work. By 1929 the practice was called ''Ford and Harkess'' and based at 12 City Road in the City of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Ford lived at

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...

from 1930 and worked extensively in south east

where he started to specialise in churches and became

for Southwark. Ford was ‘not known for his love of advanced modern architecture and his churches derive from a number of styles, though many show primarily the influence of

Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...

(1753-1837) and other architects of the Regency’. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, during which he was Head Air Raid Warden, he was engaged in the rebuilding of damaged churches as well as designing new ones. Most of his ‘post-war buildings are modest’, reflecting post-war privation, although he regularly engaged

Hans Feibusch Hans Nathan FeibuschFeibusch, Hans Nathan< ...

to paint murals.

The New Testament translation

In 1948 Ford and his brother, Ralph Ewart Ford, published ‘a blue-bound, 7½"x5"

of 377 pages’ entitled ''The Letchworth Version''. Born in

, both brothers had been influenced at an early age by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

. In their preface to the Letchworth Version of the

, the brothers praise the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

and state their aim to be the simplification of its language so that it could be comprehensible to a modern ear and the vast majority of ordinary people, a view they had gained over the years working with the poor and for Ralph, as a Scripture Reader to the forces during

. On 23 June 1945, Thomas Ford ‘read his paper entitled the ''Need for a Revision of the English Bible'' before the Ecclesiological Society in

’. Although ‘they were not experts in Greek, Mr. R. E. Ford owned the largest and most complete collection of English Bibles in England’ (the collection was displayed at the Chapter House of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953) and thus the brothers were able to compare them all to ensure that they were adhering closely to the meaning. The Letchworth Version was published in 1948 on a print run of 3,000. Due to a ‘misunderstanding the brothers’ aims and the refusal of the university presses to permit the use of the name

Authorized Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...

in the Ford's preface, reviewers criticized the version rigorously and it has not been reprinted’.

Family life

In August 1920, Ford married Grace with whom he had two boys and one girl. Ford's two sons and son-in-law were employed in Ford's architectural practice which continues today. Ford's ‘hobby was bookbinding, at which he excelled, including the intricate gold tooling’.

Selected architectural work

* Crawley – Church of St Alban, Gossops Green *

– Church of St Barnabas (restored Sir Gilbert Scott's work following war damage in 1944) *

New Eltham New Eltham is an area of south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It lies south east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. History New Eltham is a largely residential suburb of Greater London developed on former farmla ...

– All Saints Church *

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

– Church of St Michael and All Angels (1955) * Storrington – Church of St Mary, where Ford added a vestry south of the chancel in 1933 *

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History The a ...

– Church of St Matthias (repairs) *

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

- The Church of St Peter Walworth, Liverpool Grove and Trafalgar Street (restoration work completed 1953) * Waterloo - St John's Church (restored and remodelled after bomb damage) *

Welling Welling is an area of South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. E ...

– Church of St Mary the Virgin * Wickham – Church of St Michael *

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

– Church of St Mary Magdalene (repairs)

Gallery

File:St John the Evangelist Waterloo - geograph.org.uk - 1257876.jpg, St John's Church, Waterloo, remodelled by Ford after bomb damage File:St Mary the Virgin Church, Storrington.jpg, St Mary's Church, Storrington, where Ford added a vestry south of the chancel, 1933 File:St Alban's Church, Gossops Green, Crawley (October 2011).JPG, St Alban's Church, Crawley File:St Barnabas church, Eltham (geograph 2650441).jpg, St Barnabas Church, Eltham, where he restored Sir Gilbert Scott's work following war damage in 1944 File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, west 1.jpg,

St Mary Magdalene Woolwich St Mary Magdalene Woolwich is an 18th-century Anglican church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene in Woolwich, southeast London, England. History Christianity in Woolwich goes back to the Early Middle Ages. In 2015 Oxford Archaeology discovered a ...

File:St Peter's Chancel.jpg, St Peter's Church, Walworth, where Ford completed restoration work in 1953

References

External links

T.F. Ford at English HeritageT.F. Ford at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Thomas 1891 births 1971 deaths British architects Architects from Bedfordshire Translators of the Bible into English People educated at Bedford Modern School People from Bedford 20th-century translators Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects