Thomas Ford

Thomas Francis Ford (9 May 1891 – 11 January 1971) was a prolific ecclesiastical architect, Diocesan Architect for Southwark, an Ashpitel Prize winner at the Royal Institute of British Architects, founder of Thomas Ford Architects, and with his brother Ralph, who owned the largest and most complete collection of English Bibles in England, a translator in 1948 of the New Testament.

Early years

Ford was born in Bedford on 9 May 1891 and educated at Bedford Modern School.

Ford was "not known for his love of advanced modern architecture and his churches derive from a number of styles, though many show primarily the influence of Sir John Soane (1753–1837) and other architects of the Regency".

The New Testament translation

In 1948 Ford and his brother, Ralph Ewart Ford, published "a blue-bound, "x 5" New Testament of 377 pages" entitled The Letchworth Version.

Born in Bedford, both brothers had been influenced at an early age by John Bunyan. In their preface to The Letchworth Version of the New Testament, the brothers praise the King James Version and state their aim to be the simplification of its language so that it could be comprehensible to a modern ear and the vast majority of ordinary people, a view they had gained over the years working with the poor and for Ralph, as a scripture reader to the forces during World War II.

The Letchworth Version was published in 1948 on a print run of 3,000. Eltham – Church of St Barnabas (restored Sir Gilbert Scott's work following war damage in 1944) New Eltham – All Saints Church Paulsgrove – Church of St Michael and All Angels (1955) Storrington – Church of St Mary, where Ford added a vestry south of the chancel in 1933 Tulse Hill – Church of St Matthias (repairs) Walworth - The Church of St Peter Walworth, Liverpool Grove and Trafalgar Street (restoration work completed 1953) Waterloo - St John's Church (restored and remodelled after bomb damage) Welling – Church of St Mary the Virgin Wickham – Church of St Michael Woolwich – Church of St Mary Magdalene (repairs)

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