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. Church of the Ascension, Westdene

Holy Cross Church, Warren Road, Woodingdean

St Wilfrid's Church, Sherborne Road, Chichester

Biography

Early life

John Wells-Thorpe was born in 1928 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, England.Sussex Parish Churches
University of Brighton Faculty of Arts Hall of Fame: John Wells-Thorpe
He attended the Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School. He graduated from the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achi ...

(then called the Brighton College of Art), followed by three international scholarships to Rome, Northern Italy and Moorish Spain.

Career

He designed the Church of the Ascension in

Westdene Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is an affluent northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 (London Road) and the London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean and northeast of West Blat ...

, Brighton, in 1958. From 1958 to 1959, he designed the Church of the Resurrection, now known as St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, in Woodingdean. In 1968, he designed the Holy Cross Church in Woodingdean. Five years later, in 1973, he added an extension to St Wilfrid's Church in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

. In 1974, he designed Hove Town Hall. He also designed a "relocatable church", a TV studio in the Arabian Desert, and financial headquarters next door to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

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 ...

. He served as vice-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 ...

and president of the

Commonwealth Association of Architects Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), formed in 1965, is an organisation for national and regional institutes representing architects in Commonwealth countries. As such, under the Commonwealth family, the association validates courses in a ...

.Design and Health: John Wells-Thompson
He also served on the Advisory Board of the BBC. He was founding Chair of South Downs Health NHS Trust.John James
John Wells-Thorpe
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', January 07, 2004 In the 1995 New Year Honours he was appointed OBE for services to architecture. He died on 21 April 2019 at the age of 90.

Bibliography

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

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, 2003. *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. .Visit Brighton: John Wells-Thompson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells-Thorpe, John 1928 births 2019 deaths People from Brighton Alumni of the University of Brighton English ecclesiastical architects Officers of the Order of the British Empire