Mike Hedges AM - This year is
the two hundredth anniversary of John Humphrey's birth. He was known as 'God's
architect' for the chapels he designed, including Tabernacle in Morriston. The
number of chapels he designed or remodelled has been estimated at between 30
and 44, and they were built across mid and south Wales, between Llanidloes,
Pentre Rhondda and Carmarthenshire, whilst most were built in Swansea. He also
designed four schools, including Terrace Road school in Swansea, which is still
open.176
What made John Humphrey's
success astounding was he had no architectural qualifications or training. He
was a carpenter by trade. His father was almost certainly illiterate. He lived
the whole of his adult life in Morriston between Martin Street and Crown
Street—a distance of about 100 meters. He designed chapels of all sizes. He is,
of course, best known for177
'the largest, grandest and
most expensive chapel built in Wales'—178
Anthony Jones's description of
Tabernacle, Morriston, in his 1996 definitive book, Welsh Chapels. Like
all architects, he had his signature designs, both internal and external, such
as thin windows at the front, and the drop of the balcony behind the sedd
fawr. But what I really want to talk about is how somebody came from such
humble beginnings. He had no qualifications in architecture whatsoever. If
he tried to start building today, he'd be stopped immediately by building
control. But what he actually did was to produce some great buildings the whole
length and breadth of Wales. So, I think it was a tremendous achievement in the
nineteenth century
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