Alnmouth architect Ray Connell passes away aged 87

Ray Connell, a retired architect and landscaper planner of Alnwick-based Reavell and Cahill, died peacefully at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington on Tuesday, November 1.

The 87-year-old, of Alnmouth, was surrounded by his three children who came from far and wide to be at his bedside before he lost his short battle with pneumonia.

Mr Connell won many awards for his work, including Civic Trust Awards and the European Architectural Heritage Year Award for the preservation of Quay Walls, Berwick which he secured shortly after joining the firm in 1975. He also won many awards for the conservation of Belford Hall, one of the north’s finest country mansions which had fallen into a forlorn state of disrepair.

An only child, Mr Connell was born in Newcastle. He was brought up in Glanton in rural Northumberland during the Second World War, later attending Dame Allan’s school in Newcastle.

He held an Honours Degree in Architecture from Durham University, the first person in his family to attend university. Mr Connell also secured a diploma with distinction in town and country planning at Newcastle University. He became assistant county planning officer for Northumberland at the age of just 29.

Mr Connell called himself ‘a hands-on architect’ and disliked the pretentiousness sometimes found in his profession, often getting on better with down to earth builders.

He received a further Civic Trust award for the handsome villa he created for Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland in Hulne Park, Alnwick. However, it is perhaps for his sympathetic restoration and conservation work across Northumberland he is best remembered, winning him prestigious commissions, including at Lumley Castle.

His youngest son, James, writing on behalf of the family said: “He had a fiercely independent spirit and was passionate about Northumberland – its history and heritage (especially researching his family history) but above all its landscape.

“He retained a lifelong love of its wild country – its untamed hills, moors, unspoilt beaches and remote and mysterious places.

“He was never more at home than when he was either cycling or striding among the north country’s rugged rocks, pointing out old barrows or cup and ring markings or visiting the imposing strongholds of the Border Reivers. He would often paint or sketch its landscapes and was an accomplished watercolour painter. He loved to listen to classical music on his Hi-Fi and travelled widely, including an adventure in the wilds of Peru. He was a fantastic father.

“Many may remember him from Alnwick Squash Club where he played to a high level. He remained a proud borderer all his life. Like many Northumbrians, he had connections on both sides of the border, most recently attending his youngest granddaughter’s wedding in Kelso in September. My dad had a dry, sometimes acerbic sense of humour and a mischievous twinkle in his eye with a penchant for playing good-natured tricks on friends.

“He was a loyal and devoted husband to his late wife, Norma, who died on Easter Sunday after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease, caring for her with the help of the kind people of Alnmouth who rallied behind us a family. We remain grateful to them for their compassion. He showed throughout her illness his natural toughness, stoicism and kindness. They were married for 60 years.”

He is survived by his three children, farmer Helen Gray, identical twins John and James. John is a former journalist and author, and James is chief reporter and crime reporter at the Worcester News.

Mr Connell has six grandchildren including television shepherdess Emma Gray who appeared on BBC’s This Farming Life. He also has two great-grandchildren. His funeral will take place at Blyth Crematorium on Wednesday, November 23 at 1.45pm.