Clough Williams-Ellis Architect & Conservationist by Nigel Harrison

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Clough Williams-Ellis Architect & Conservationist by Nigel Harrison

Clough Williams-Ellis (1883-1978) is famous for the creation of the Picturesque Italianate garden village of Portmeirion in North Wales, well known for its use as the setting of the 1960s television series The Prisoner, yet he was also a prolific general architect who could work in a variety of styles and deliver accomplished buildings fos his clients, using the refined Classical, the eclectic mix of Vernacular elements called the Arts and Crafts, and the entirely Modern. He did much work throughout the United Kingdom and he was also a noted conservationist, campaigner and writer on architectural subjects. At Portmeirion he was a influential pioneer in the use of strong colours such as turquoise and the re-use of architectural fragments rescued from demolished buildings (he nicknamed the village 'a home for fallen buildings'). This is the first book to attempt a balanced assesment of the many sides of this fascinating personality. He was an English architect but one who has become associated with Wales and Welshness (he designed the national memorial for David Lloyd George). He called himself a socialist and his work includes some council housing and modest bungalows, but, like most Arts and Crafts artists, he is remembered for his work for rich patrons. He was an outspoken confident critic, yet also benign, modest and self-deprecating (he called his 1971 autobiography Architect Errant). The eclectic mix of his styles seems to echo the contradictions of his life and personality, the broad range of his work showing that he was practical and open-minded despite his outspoken views, with a philosophy of architecture as a public service. The book is sumptuously illustrated with both old and new photographs, many supplied by the Portmeirion Trust, and architectural drawings from the archives of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

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