Elgan Jones awarded prestigious historic buildings Scholarship

Architect Elgan Jones from Purcell has been awarded this year’s Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) Lethaby Scholarship. The 27-year-old is one of just three building professionals selected from applicants across the UK to be awarded this prestigious scholarship.

The SPAB Lethaby Scholarship aims to provide young architects, surveyors and engineers with both technical experience and a philosophical approach to the repair of old buildings. The intensive nine month Scholarship programme is considered by many in the field to be the best form of conservation training available. The first six months are spent travelling all over the country to observe traditional building techniques and visit structures of every age, size and style from cathedrals to garden grottoes. The programme is very hands-on allowing Scholars the opportunity to try out specialist craftwork such as timber framing, masonry, lime pointing and blacksmithing. The final three months allow the Scholars to develop their personal interests in the crafts and allied arts associated with the UK’s great country houses.

Elgan is one of five Lethaby Scholars currently working at Purcell alongside Niall Phillips (1976), Izaak Hudson (2001), Lucy Stewart (2009) and Jo Kelly (2011).

Elgan joined Purcell in 2006 as a student and qualified as an Architect with a distinction from Liverpool John Moores University in 2013. He is currently working between two of the practice’s studios based in Bodnant, North Wales and Liverpool. Working for the practice, he has had the opportunity to work on a number of important historic buildings including Yr Ysgwrn, the home of Hedd Wyn, in Snowdonia National Park. To facilitate the Scholarship, Elgan will be taking a nine month sabbatical from the practice from the 17th March.

Elgan hopes the Scholarship would build upon his love of historic buildings and allow him to develop greater practical skills and technical knowledge of a broader subject range. He also hopes to refine his philosophical approach not only to the repair of historic structures, but to sensitive new design within the historic context.

Architect Elgan Jones said: “I believe that proper repair and high quality design are not only key to the protection of our historic buildings, but also have a significant role to play in economic regeneration. Becoming a Lethaby Scholar will enable me to develop these skills and hopefully raise awareness of the benefit of conservation.”

Many former Scholars are among the leading conservation architects in the UK, looking after some of the foremost buildings in Britain. Some are cathedral architects while others look after palaces, National Trust houses and English Heritage scheduled monuments, producing work of the highest quality.