Randall Wells

Who was Randall Wells?

Albert Randall Wells was an English Arts and Crafts architect, craftsman and inventor.

He was the son of an architect, Arthur Wells of Hastings. After a practical training in joinery and founding as well as architecture, Randall Wells was discovered by William Lethaby and acted as his resident architect at All Saints, Brockhampton-by-Ross, Herefordshire where Lethaby's experimentation with the employment of direct labour under a site architect instead of a contractor under a formal building contract, and deliberately produced few drawings, gave Wells freedom to evolve the design as the building rose and to engage in the physical activity of building. He worked in a similar role with ES Prior at Voewood, Kelling, near Holt, Norfolk, where the exterior was faced with the stones dug from its own site, and at St Andrew's, Roker, Sunderland, built for a local shipbuilder, John Priestman, for which he also carved the stone font.

In parallel to collaborative projects with other architects, he developed an independent practice.