Tom Neville Wynne-Jones (19 November 1893 - 21 June 1979) was a Welsh

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 ...

, who served as the Chief Architect of Ceylon. Tom Neville Wynne-Jones was born on 19 November 1893 in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

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

, the youngest son of Augustus Theophrastus Morgan (1857-1936). He studied in

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 ...

and served as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in 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 ...

, between 1915 and 1919. In 1919 he joined the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

, taking up a role as an architectural assistant in the Public Works Department. In 1932 he was formally appointed as Chief Architect. During his career he was responsible for over 2,000 projects, including significant public buildings such as the Survey Department on Kirula Road,

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...

studios,

Panagoda Cantonment Panagoda Cantonment is a cantonment located in the western Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province of Sri Lanka. It serves as the regimental headquarters of many regiments of the Sri Lanka Army and is an arsenal. It also houses one of the mai ...

(

Ceylon Light Infantry Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

headquarters), the

Independence Memorial Hall Independence Memorial Hall (also known as ''Independence Commemoration Hall'') is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the restoration of full governing responsibil ...

and the

Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour is located in Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo 07) a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the primary Anglican cathedral, affiliated to the Church of Ceylon. The decision to build the Anglican cathedral in Col ...

. As Ceylon had no professional architectural body Wynne-Jones joined the Engineering Association of Ceylon and in 1950 was elected the Association's president. In

1943 New Year Honours The 1943 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1942.United Kingdom (additiona ...

he was appointed an

Officer of the British Empire 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 ...

, in the 1950 New Year Honours a

Commander of the British Empire 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 ...

and in the

1954 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1954 to celebrat ...

was granted a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. He retired from his position as chief architect in 1953, after the country's independence, and was succeeded by

Homi Billimoria Homi Framjee Billimoria OBE, (23 May 1901 - June 1956) was a Ceylonese architect of Parsee origin. He was the first Ceylonese to graduate from Liverpool University and be elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Homi Fra ...

. Wynne-Jones however continued to work for the Public Works Department and was the main consulting architect for the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

, succeeding Shirley de Alwis upon de Alwis' death. He later returned to England, where he died on 21 June 1979, at the age of 85, at

Frinton-on-Sea Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837. In 1931 the parish had a populati ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Notable projects

Boake Gates The Boake Gates (officially ''Boake Memorial Gates'') at Royal College Colombo are three entrances to the main building along Rajakeeya Mawatha in Colombo. Erected in 1938, the gates stand as a symbol for the college's traditions and culture. The ...

(1937) *

(1949) *

(1953) *

(1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne-Jones, Tom Neville 1893 births 1979 deaths British architects Sri Lankan people of Welsh descent People from British Ceylon 20th-century Sri Lankan architects

Notable projects

Further reading

References