John Prichard (original) (raw)

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British architect (1817–1886)

John Prichard
John Prichard
Born (1817-05-06)6 May 1817Llangan, Glamorgan, Wales
Died 13 October 1886(1886-10-13) (aged 69)Cardiff, Wales

John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style.[1] As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales.

John Prichard was born in Llangan, near Cowbridge, Wales on 6 May 1817, the twelfth son of the rector Richard Prichard, who served as vicar-choral of Llandaff for 35 years.[2] He was descended from the Prichard family of Collenna.[3] John Prichard trained as an architect under Thomas Larkins Walker, and as a result was deeply influenced by the ideas of Augustus Pugin; much of his work was in a neo-Gothic style.[4]

He established a practice in Llandaff, Cardiff, becoming 'Resident Diocesan Architect' in December 1844.[5][6] Between 1852 and 1863 he was in partnership with John Pollard Seddon. Many of his major commissions were restoration works, most famously for Llandaff Cathedral (1843–69); Prichard and Seddon worked on the cathedral from the 1840s until 1869, when the south-western tower was completed (to Prichard's own design).[7] Much of their work was destroyed by enemy bombing during the Second World War.[8]

The grave of Prichard in the grounds of Llandaff Cathedral

Prichard died, unmarried and childless, at the age of 69, and is buried on the south side of the cathedral.[9] On Prichard's death, Seddon succeeded him as diocesan architect.[10]

The Prichard Bridge, named after the architect, was built in about 1880 to allow carriages to cross the feeder channel between the River Taff and the Llandaff corn mill.[11] It is a Grade II listed building. The mill was demolished in about 1932 and the stream no longer exists; the lower part of the bridge is buried and no longer visible.[12]

One of the few secular buildings on which Prichard & Seddon worked was Ettington Park, where Prichard's brother Richard was vicar.[13] Prichard also designed Nazareth House, Cardiff, a Catholic almshouse built on land donated by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. The chapel of the latter was not Prichard's work; it was added later.[14]

Drawings for the restoration of the Church of St David, Llanddewi Rhydderch (1862)

  1. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) p.710. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6
  2. ^ Ellis, Megan. "John Prichard". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Prichard family of Collenna, Llantrisant,papers". Glamorgan Archives. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  4. ^ "John Prichard (1818-1886)". Stained Glass in Wales. University of Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  5. ^ Monmouthshire Beacon, 21 December 1844, p. 3.
  6. ^ John Newman (2000). The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire. Yale University Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780300096309.
  7. ^ The Architect and Building News. 1873. pp. 118–.
  8. ^ John Newman; Stephen R. Hughes; Anthony Ward (1995). The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan). Yale University Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780140710564.
  9. ^ a b "History". Llandaff Cathedral. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  10. ^ The Red Dragon: The National Magazine of Wales. Daniel Owen, Howell and Company. 1886.
  11. ^ "Prichard Bridge". People's Collection Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Bridge to north extension of Graveyard of Cathedral of Ss Peter and Paul, Llandaff". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  13. ^ a b Geoffrey Tyack (1 January 1994). Warwickshire Country Houses. Phillimore. ISBN 978-0-85033-868-3.
  14. ^ John Newman; Stephen R. Hughes; Anthony Ward (1995). Glamorgan: (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan). Penguin Books; University of Wales Press. pp. 285–. ISBN 978-0-14-071056-4.
  15. ^ Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England); Crawford, David Lindsay (1934). An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. H. M. Stationery off., printed by William Clowes & sons, ltd. p. 96. Retrieved 25 March 2012. Parish Church of St. Swithin, was entirely rebuilt in 1850...
  16. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.181
  17. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.174
  18. ^ "Church of SS Julius and Aaron, Llanharan". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  19. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.500
  20. ^ "Church of St Mary". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  21. ^ Cadw. "Church of St. David (17417)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Former Church of St Mary, Tintern". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  23. ^ Childs, Jeff (2012). Roath, Splott and Adamsdown: One Thousand Years of History. History Press. ISBN 9780752482576.
  24. ^ Newman (1995) p.334
  25. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.507
  26. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.46
  27. ^ "Church of St Thomas, Monmouth, Monmouthshire". Stained Glass in Wales. llgc.org.uk.
  28. ^ Meryl Gover (28 April 2015). Cadfan's Church: A History with Digressions. Troubador Publishing Ltd. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-78462-290-9.
  29. ^ Hignell, Andrew (2017). Always Amongst Friends: The Cardiff and County Clubb 1866-2016. Cardiff: Welsh Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-86-057129-9.
  30. ^ Cadw. "Bridge to north extension of Graveyard of Cathedral of Ss Peter and Paul (81257)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  31. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales p.83