| Alfred Hoare Powell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 April 1865 Reading, Berkshire |
| Died | 1960 |
| Nationality | British |
| Work | |
| Buildings |
Brandsby Hall, Yorkshire Bedales School |
| Projects | Long Copse, Ewhurst, Surrey |
Alfred Hoare Powell (1865–1960) was an English Arts and Crafts architect, and designer and painter of pottery.
Alfred Powell was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 14 April 1865 (the day Abraham Lincoln got shot), the son of Thomas Edward Powell by Emma Corrie.
He was the architectural pupil of John Dando Sedding, working in the 'crafted Gothic' tradition inspired by John Ruskin. His wife, Louise Powell, née Lessore, was the daughter of an artist, and studied embroidery, calligraphy and illuminating. Together Alfred and Louise Powell became celebrated as pottery designers for Wedgwoods. They hand-painted many thousands of pieces themselves and trained "paintresses" for Wedgwood. They collaborated on the revitalisation of the arts and crafts, rejecting industrialisation and designing furniture decoration, embroidery and ceramics, and encouraging a communitarian spirit in the South Cotswolds.
Alfred Powell with the younger architect Norman Jewson was the most significant associate of Ernest Gimson and the brothers Ernest and Sidney Barnsley at Sapperton, in Gloucestershire, in the Cotswold Arts and Crafts revival. He settled nearby at Gurners Farm, Oakridge Lynch in 1902, but sold the house in 1916, and moved to The Thatched House, Tunley near Oakridge, in the 1920s, and later lived at Tarlton near Rodmarton. He worked with Detmar Blow and F.W. Troup for both the National Trust and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
Powell's architectural works include a house at Brandsby Hall, Yorkshire, for Hugh Fairfax-Cholmeley; repairs at Barrington Court, Somerset and Queens' College, Cambridge; and projects with other members of the Gimson school at Pinbury Park and Rodmarton Manor, near Sapperton, and Bedales School in Hampshire. Long Copse (1897), at Ewhurst, was much praised by contemporaries; it was described by the painter G.F. Watts as the most beautiful house in Surrey.
He built a wonderful summer house in Tarlton with a thatched bothy in the grounds - now called Studio Cottage. It has recently been listed (2010), but unfortunately, is in a poor state of repair. This is a tragedy as it has some wonderful features, including some Gimson works and a wonderful ha-ha.
Alfred Powell edited the memorial volume to his friend Ernest Gimson, Ernest Gimson: his life and work (1924), with contributions by William Richard Lethaby and F.L. Griggs.