E. J. Woods

Woods was born in London and educated at several private schools,[1] then, deciding to become an architect, served his articles for three years with Charles James Richardson.

The first building he had to work on was the head office of the National Bank, King William street, which was erected together with the Imperial Chambers.

[5] He designed "Central Chambers", a two-storey suite of offices at the corner of Waymouth and King William streets, opened in January 1873, previously the "Nimble Ninepence" store, which was destroyed by fire.

Bishop Augustus Short called, informing him that the church authorities would have nothing to do with any other local architect, and in 1869 he left the partnership with Wright, and was soon entrusted with the preparation of working drawings for the Cathedral.

The original plans had been prepared by Butterfield in London, but Bishop Short, then head of the Anglican Church of South Australia, deemed it necessary to enlarge the design and make other substantial modifications, and the first and subsequent portions of the Cathedral were carried out under the direction of E. J.

During the years he held this office a large number of public buildings of all kinds, were erected under his supervision, notably the Governor's summer residence at Marble Hill,[9] at a cost of about £25,000.

He attended a special meeting of the building committee when the original plans from Taylor and Wright were found to be defective in many details, and he was told to entirely remodel them.

He put up several convents in Adelaide, Port Pirie, Broken Hill and elsewhere, also numerous chapels, both in the city, suburbs, and country districts.

He was in 1898, with Edward Davies, appointed joint architect of the National Mutual Life Association building on King William Street.

They had two sons and three daughters: Alfred Thomas Woods (c. 1841 – 16 November 1892), a surveyor with the Surveyor-General George Goyder in the Northern Territory, was a brother.