It is with great sadness that we announce that John Coward passed away after a short illness on 15th December 2024.

John trained as a student in Architecture and worked in Manchester from 1962 until moving to the Lake District in 1980 with his wife Val and sons. He worked initially in private practice for Ambleside architects Stables & Gilchrist and then in the Technical Department of South Lakeland District Council. After qualifying from Liverpool John Moores University as a mature student in 1988 he became a Chartered Member of the RIBA.

In 1991 he established John Coward Chartered Architect in Cartmel as a sole practitioner, which became John Coward Architects Ltd in 2002.

John retired as Managing Director of the practice in 2017 but still visited the office very regularly to keep in touch.

John was a very talented architect with a huge portfolio of projects and experience over his many years in practice. His understanding of architecture, design and conservation built a reputation for excellence within Cumbria and the Lake District which the practice strive to build upon, and John’s principles of quality of design and quality of service to all no matter the size of the project continue to be championed in the practice.

All the staff here at JCA Ltd felt very much part of John’s family. His extraordinary huge heart, humour and friendship will be missed by us all and we send our deepest condolences to his sons Iain, Niall and Danny and their families at this very sad time. He was a very lovely man.