C. Hodgson Fowler


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

Life

Fowler was born in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, the son of Robert Hodgson Fowler the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Rolleston and Frances Elizabeth Bish. On 14 September 1880 he married Grace Florence Hood, daughter of Reverend W. Frankland Hood of Nettleham Hall, Lincoln.

Career

Fowler was educated in Southwell, at Berkhamsted School, and by private tutor. He gained an MA with honours at the University of Durham. In the early 1860s, following an apprenticeship with Sir George Gilbert Scott, Fowler 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. 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.

Associations

Fowler was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1917. He was a major of the Volunteer Force, and was awarded the Volunteer Officers' Decoration.

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 and elsewhere is as follows:
Other notable churches by Fowler include:

Restorations

Among Fowler's restorations were the following:

Reordering

Opinions on Fowler's work

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:
  • "Charles Hodgson Fowler, clerk of works then architect to the Dean and Chapter, composed the usual red brick and lancet windows to great effect in his big town churches, and barn-like colliery ones. Between 1864 and 1895 he did a vast number of restorations, handling them sensitively but not slavishly."
  • "From outside the county, C. H. Fowler... also restored much, with a similar dead hand"
  • "Hodgson Fowler was more sensitive ..."
  • "... C. Hodgson Fowler of Durham ..."
  • "C. Hodgson Fowler did some pleasant village churches "