What do you know about one of Jersey's most influential architects?

Thursday 01 September 2022

If you've visited Gorey Castle, the Opera House or gone shopping in De Gruchy, you've had a brush with one of the island's most influential architects and engineers... But not enough is known about him.

Société Jersiaise is now looking to fill those gaps and is appealing for information about Adolphus Curry.

With the assistance of the Société Jersiaise’s newly formed Architecture Section, Trudy Mirza is undertaking the “ambitious task” of producing a compilation of Curry’s works.

Although the architect’s name and some of his buildings will be familiar to many islanders, a resource which explores the full range of his work in Jersey has never been available to the general public – something the Société is keen to correct.

Trudy explained: “It’s hard to overestimate Curry’s influence on modern Jersey.  If you’ve ever attended a show at the Opera House, visited Mont Orgueil or shopped in de Gruchy’s, you’ve been in a building Curry designed, restored or altered.”

Pictured: Peel Villas in Havre des Pas, which were designed by Curry for his brother-in-law R.B. Colley.

Curry was born in Library Place in 1848. He attended Victoria College, belonged to three Masonic Lodges, and was a prominent member of the United Club which flew its flag at half-mast when he died. 

He was also a member of the Société, served on the Executive, was instrumental in the creation of the Museum, and supervised the conservation of many of the island’s historic buildings.

This included St. Saviour’s Parish Church, where he is buried. 

Pictured: Adolphus Curry (circled) on a Société Jersiaise outing.

Trudy urges anyone who knows of drawings, correspondence or photos of Adolphus Curry and his family to get in touch. 

She is particularly hopeful that a copy of a PhD dissertation which was written by an islander several years ago, but which unfortunately is no longer in the possession of its author or on deposit anywhere, will turn up.

Pictured: A close-up of Adolphus Curry (centre, smoking pipe).

Trudy added: “The Société will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year and the 29th of June 2023 also happens to be Curry’s 175th birthday, so it seems really appropriate that Société is launching this project now.”