C. Hodgson Fowler


Charles Hodgson Fowler was a prolific English ecclesiastical architect who specialised in building and, especially, restoring churches.

Life

He was born in Nottinghamshire, the son of Robert Hodgson Fowler the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Rolleston and Frances Elizabeth Bish.

Career

In the early 1860s, following an apprenticeship with Sir George Gilbert Scott, he commenced work in Pimlico, London, and became an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1863. His proposers were Scott, E. W. Pugin and Matthew Digby Wyatt. In 1864, he moved to Durham, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Fowler's initial appointment in Durham was as Clerk of Works at Durham Cathedral in succession to E.R. Robson. In 1870 he became a Fellow of the RIBA. At various times, he held the position of Architect to Rochester Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral, and Architect to the Diocese of York and the Diocese of Lincoln. From 1885 to the time of his death, he was Architect to the Dean and Chapter of Durham, a post that had previously been held by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Almost all of Fowler's work was done in four counties: County Durham, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

Designs

Although much of Fowler's work involved restoring and enlarging buildings, he was the architect of a number of new or rebuilt churches. A representative sample in a book on Victorian architecture is as follows:
Other notable churches by Fowler include:
Among Fowler's restorations were the following:
The introductions to some of the volumes in the Buildings of England series offer a range of opinions on the merits of Fowler's restorations and, sometimes, his new or rebuilt churches: