| Nowell Parr | |
| Honorific Suffix: | FRIBA |
| Image Upright: | 1.25 |
| Birth Name: | Thomas Henry Nowell Parr |
| Birth Date: | 1864 |
| Birth Place: | Handsworth, Staffordshire, England |
| Death Date: | 23 September 1933 (aged 69) |
| Death Place: | Kingston, Surrey, England[1] |
| Known For: | Public houses in west London, especially for Fuller's Brewery |
| Occupation: | Architect |
Thomas Henry Nowell Parr FRIBA (1864 – 23 September 1933) was a British architect, best known for designing pubs in west London. Many of these were built while Parr was "house architect" for Fuller's Brewery. Parr designed various buildings in Brentford while he was surveyor and then architect to the Council from 1894 to 1907.
Parr was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire (now Birmingham), the eldest child of Thomas Parr and Frances "Fanny" Nowell. He was baptised on 20 July 1864.[2] In 1890, his career began as an architectural assistant for Walsall Corporation architects' department, for which he worked until 1894.[3]
In 1894, the Brentford Local Board employed Nowell Parr as "Surveyor to the Council", and from 1897 as an architect.[4]
From 1896–1905, Parr was architect for five large buildings in Brentford, of which three survive: Brentford Baths, Brentford Fire Station (1897),[5] and Brentford Library. Brentford Vestry Hall (apparently the finest of these five) was demolished in 1963, and Brentford Enclosed Market in 1982. The Market eventually became a skateboarding rink, and was also used as a backdrop for episodes of The Sweeney, the 1970s British television police drama.[6]
While still working for Brentford Council, Parr began undertaking work as a pub architect. He worked for both Fuller's Brewery, Chiswick and the Royal Brewery, Brentford.
Parr started to work independently in about 1900, while still employed by Brentford UDC. He later went into partnership with fellow architect A. E. Kates, and was also joined by his son, John Nowell Parr (died 1975). He was made a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1925.[7]
Parr is notable for his frequent use of Royal Doulton glazed tiles for his pub facades, often in bright or unusual colours, such as green and a mottled slate blue at the Beehive (which has a beehive-shaped turret on top) in Brentford in 1907.[8]
In 1891, Parr married Betsey Fennell in Birmingham. They had three children: Marguerite Parr (1894–1978), John Nowell Parr (1897–1975) and Eunice Parr (1905-1940)John was also an architect.
In 1922, he married Mabel Harbird. They had two children: Nowell (Tim) Parr (1925-1978) and Stanley Parr (1929-2017)
Parr lived at 42 Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, London and 52 Kew Bridge Road, Brentford. He died on 23 September 1933.
There is a block of flats named Nowell Parr Court at Boston Manor Road, Brentford, Middlesex.