Alfred Brumwell Thomas [also known as Alfred Brumwell Thomas] was born Alfred Thomas in London England on 24 February 1868 and was articled to Walter Seckham Witherington (1843-1898). He also studied at Westminster School of Art in London, and, for three years, at the Architectural Association in London.
In 1894 Thomas set up his own independent practice and at this point added Brumwell to his name. In 1906 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA).
Thomas was a member of the Council of the British Colonial Society of Artists. In addition to his work as an architect, Thomas also designed fireplaces. Photographs of fireplaces he designed for the Well Fire Co. are illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1906 (p.95) and 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1907 (p.112). Thomas was knighted in 1906. His brother was the architect Ernest Montague Thomas (1878-1916).
Alfred Brumwell Thomas died in Virginia Water, Surrey, on 22 January 1948.
Architectural works by Thomas included Clacton Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex (1894); Belfast City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland (1897-1906); Eye Infirmary, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Southernhay, Devon (1898-1901; Addey and Stanhope Schools, London (1899) Plumstead [later called Woolwich] Town Hall, Wellington Street, London (1899-1908); Stockport Town Hall, Wellington Road, Stockport, Cheshire (1903-08); Belfast City Hall (1906); Public Library, Lewisham Way, Deptford, London (1911-14); Fever Hospital, Huddersfield, Yorkshire (c.1914); Skefko Ball Bearing Works, Luton, Bedfordshire (1919); Dunkerque War Memorial (1923; Cenotaph and Garden of Remembrance, Donegall Square, Belfast, (1925-27). He also made to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London.
'Obituary'. RIBA Journal vol. 55, April 1948 p. 271
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 174, 30 January 1948 p. 134
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985
Larmour, Paul. Belfast City Hall: an architectural history. Belfast : Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2010
‘The Belfast City Hall’ [Architect: A. Brumwell Thomas] Architectural Review vol. 20, 1906, pp. 189-208.