Alfred Wells was an architect in the colony of South Australia. Alfred was born at Marryatville a son of Percy Wells and his wife Caroline, and was educated at Thomas Caterer's school in Norwood. In 1871 the family returned to England aboard the Yatala, which was wrecked off the coast of France en route, but without loss of life. He undertook further schooling in Surrey, then studied architecture in London, returning to Adelaide in 1879. He soon found employment with the Engineer-in-Chief's Department under H. C. Mais. He worked for a time with Edmund Wright before returning to the Architect-in-Chief's Department under E. J. Woods then with Ernest Bayer and Latham A. Withall. In 1885 Bayer left the partnership and Wells took his place. Withall and Wells were in 1885 responsible for two of Adelaide's outstanding structures: the Adelaide Arcade and the Jubilee Exhibition Building, both of which sported ornamental domes. In 1888 Withall and his family left for Britain, never to return, and Wells ran the business alone, designing for the Adelaide Children's Hospital two structures which still stand: the Allen Campbell Building and the Angas Building. Other high-profile buildings for which he was responsible were the Adelaide Electric Supply Company's building on East Terrace, Brookman Building on Grenfell Street, Norwood Town Hall, Thebarton Town Hall, and the South Australian Hotel on North Terrace. He retired in 1926, and died at Memorial Hospital in 1935.
Other activities
He served as councillor for the City of St. Peters and, like his father, was a prominent Freemason.
Family
Wells married Gertrude E. Pollock on 29 August 1883, living at "Rathmines" in Collinswood; they had two sons and two daughters:
Alfred Cuthbert Wells married Angelica Leslie Pooler on 30 July 1910
Audrey Hall Wells married Capt. Oscar William Chalker MC on 20 September 1927, lived at Oak Lodge, Mount Lofty. He died of an injury to the back of his head, presumably accidental.
