John Welch

• Birth date        7 May 1810 Overton, Flintshire
• Death date      14 February 1849 at Liverpool
  

John Welch was born in 1810, at Overton, Flintshire; the younger brother of Edward Welch. He first moved to the Isle of Man about 1830 as assistant to his brother Edward and Joseph Aloysius Hansom. It was this later partnership, after many successes in North Wales and Northern England, that had been invited to design King William’s College on the island. Shortly afterwards however this partnership was bankrupted because of problems associated with the building of Birmingham Town Hall. Although John was probably involved, he escaped bankruptcy. Edward Welch left the Island before the completion of King William's College, but John Welch remained, claiming to have altered the design of the tower. The Manx Advertiser 18 Nov 1834 and subsequent issues carried the following advertisement for his services: John Welch Architect Begs respectfully to inform the Public that he has prepared a number of designs for Cottages, Villas etc in a variety of styles to which he has endeavoured to combine Economy of Arrangement and Design with a degree of Taste and Appearance. To the Gentlemen who would so honour him by a call they are open for inspection at his office, Athol Court, every day from 10 to 4.

In 1836 he had an address on North Quay, Douglas, and advertised his services as 'architect, civil engineer and general surveyor'. He entered into partnership with John Moore, a builders' merchant who went into bankruptcy in 1837 (a letter in Manx Liberal 19 Dec 1840 complained re non-payment of debts 'It is now three years since the firm of Welch and Moore was dissolved, and the latter been insolvent...'). Again in 1838 he entered a partnership under the style Welch and Webbe, with a Mr Webbe (about nothing is known) acting as resident architect.

By this time John Welch had moved to St Asaph in North Wales, visiting the Isle of Man occasionally. About 1842 he moved to Preston, Lancashire where he was declared bankrupt in 1848. [London Gazette (17 March 1848, page 1136]

John Welch, architect, late of Preston, died on 14 February 1849 at Liverpool. He appears never to have married

Address
1830-1837    Isle of Man
1834            Athol Court Douglas
1837            North Quay Douglas
1838            Welch and Webbe, architects Old Bank, Douglas
1838-1842    Bagillt Hall, Holywell, St Asaph Clwyd
1842-1848    43, Fishergate. Preston

Residence
1848        34 Chaddock Street Preston  (London Gazette 17 March 1848 p1136)
1848        43 Great Avenham Street Preston (London Gazette 17 March 1848 p1136)
1848        Occasional lodger at Bridge Inn Salford (London Gazette 17 March 1848 p1136)
1849        Liverpool (death notice)

Death Notice    Preston Chronicle 17 February 1849 page 5
Death Notice    Manchester Times 20 February 1849 page 8

References
A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600 1840 3rd Ed, H. Colvin; Yale University Press 1995