Alfred Wells (16 May 1859 – 8 December 1935) was an architect in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Alfred was born at

Marryatville Marryatville is a small suburb about east of Adelaide's central business district, in the local council area of City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. Comprising low- to medium-density housing, two large schools, a church and several shops, it ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, a son of Percy Wells and his wife Caroline (1831–1901). He was educated at

Thomas Caterer Thomas Caterer (31 July 1825 – c. 4 January 1917) was a pioneer schoolteacher of Adelaide, South Australia who founded in 1862 a private school for boys which in 1866 became Norwood Grammar School. His brother, Frederick Isaac Caterer (c. 1840 ...

's school in Norwood. In 1871 the family returned to England aboard the ''Yatala'', which was wrecked off the coast of France en route, but without loss of life. He undertook further schooling in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, then studied architecture in London, returning to

in 1879. He soon found employment with the Engineer-in-Chief's Department under H. C. Mais. He worked for a time with Edmund Wright before returning to the Architect-in-Chief's Department under E. J. Woods, then with Ernest Bayer and Latham A. Withall. In 1885 Bayer left the partnership and Wells took his place. Withall and Wells were in 1885 responsible for two of Adelaide's outstanding structures: the

Adelaide Arcade Adelaide Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is linked to, and closely associated with, Gay's Arcade. History The property on which the Arcade was built was the scene of two d ...

and the

Jubilee Exhibition Building The Jubilee Exhibition Building in Adelaide, South Australia, was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne on 20 June 1837. The jubilees of her Coronation on 28 June 1838, and of the Proclamation of Sout ...

(demolished c. 1965), both of which sported ornamental domes. In 1888 Withall and his family left for Britain, never to return, and Wells ran the business alone, designing for the

Adelaide Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Fli ...

(now Women's and Children's Hospital) two structures which still stand: the Allen Campbell Building and the Angas Building. Other high-profile buildings for which he was responsible were the original single-storey building for the

Adelaide Electric Supply Company The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999. Precursors Early days (1882–1900) Charles Todd, an ea ...

in 1901 (now

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music an ...

) on the corner of

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. On the other side of King William Street, it continues as Currie S ...

and

East Terrace __NOTOC__ East Terrace marks the eastern edge of the Adelaide city centre. It is one of the main north–south thoroughfares through the east side of the city. Although the terrace essentially runs north–south between North Terrace and Sout ...

, the

Brookman Building The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

on Grenfell Street,

Norwood Town Hall The Norwood Town Hall is the council seat of the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, and the building includes a number of other venues. It is located at 175 The Parade in Norwood, an inner-eastern suburb of greater Adelaide, South Australi ...

, Thebarton Town Hall, and the South Australian Hotel on North Terrace. Wells retired in 1926, and died at

Memorial Hospital, North Adelaide A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

in 1935.

Other activities

He served as councillor for the City of St. Peters and, like his father, was a prominent Freemason.

Family

Wells married Gertrude E. Pollock (3 December 1860? – 8 January 1946) on 29 August 1883, living at "Rathmines" in

Collinswood Collinswood is a suburb of Adelaide spanning the boundary of the Prospect and the Port Adelaide Enfield local government areas. Adelaide's Australian Broadcasting Corporation Studios are located in the suburb on the corner of North East Road a ...

; they had two sons and two daughters: *Alfred Cuthbert Wells (1884 – 30 December 1952) married Angelica Leslie Pooler (1888–) on 30 July 1910 *Geoffrey Erskine Wells (22 January 1891 – 6 October 1917) was, as Captain Wells of

2nd AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

, killed in action, Belgium. *(Marjorie) Gertrude Wells (25 January 1888 – ) married John Digby Yeatman MM (c. January 1890 – ) on 25 September 1920. She at one time inherited a painting by Whistler, later purchased by the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

*Audrey Hall Wells (7 July 1897 – 24 October 1953) married Capt. Oscar William Chalker MC (27 July 1894 – 10 December 1953) on 20 September 1927, lived at Oak Lodge, Mount Lofty. He died of an injury to the back of his head, presumably accidental.

Other activities

Family

References

Further reading