Nationality English, Canadian Role Architect | Name William Thomas Occupation Architect Children William Tutin Thomas | |
 | ||
Structures St Michael's Cathedral, Don Jail, St Lawrence Hall, Oakham House, St George's Anglican | ||
William Thomas (c.1799 – 26 December 1860) was an Anglo-Canadian architect. His son William Tutin Thomas (1829–1892) was also an architect, working mostly in Montreal.
Life
Thomas was born in Suffolk. He was apprenticed to a local builder after his family moved to Gloucestershire. His Two older brothers became master glaziers and younger brother was the sculptor John Thomas, apprenticed under Charles Barry and A.W. Pugin(born 1813).
On completion of his apprenticeship William moved to Birmingham to work for Richard Tutin a builder and surveyor. He became a member of the Tutin family by marrying Martha, a member of the Tutin family. During this time he revised his title to architect, however a depression in the city forced the closure of the firm and his moved to Leamington.
Thomas began his own practice at Leamington Spa in 1831 where he designed many buildings, but in 1837 went bankrupt. In 1843, during a depression in the British building industry, he emigrated to Canada with his wife and 10 children to Toronto, where his career flourished. He designed some of the finest Decorated Gothic Revival architecture in Ontario.
He was also Toronto's city engineer when John George Howard made a trip to England in 1853. He died in Toronto, aged about sixty. Two of his sons, William Tutin Thomas and Cyrus Pole Thomas, also became architects.
Thomas is sometimes inaccurately credited with the architectural design and the elaborate stone carvings on Victoria Hall in Cobourg, Ontario. In fact, Kivas Tully designed the building and the fine sandstone carvings are the work of master stonecarver Charles Thomas Thomas (1820–1867).