John Butler (architect)

John Butler was a British architect who, for fourteen years, was the surveyor and chief architect for the Metropolitan [Police Service|Metropolitan Police] in London. He was appointed in 1881 and held the role until his retirement in 1895. His designs were influenced by the Queen Anne [style architecture|Queen Anne architectural style], used by Richard Norman Shaw, with whom he worked on the Scotland Yard between 1887 and 1890.
There was a boom in police stations during the 1880s following the political unrest of that decade and high-profile events such as the Whitechapel Murders. Upon taking over the role of chief surveyor for the Metropolitan Police in 1881, Butler undertook a survey of the police estate. He replaced those buildings he found to be inadequate with new stations, and, in the case of Gerald Road Police Station, improved and extended existing structures.
Butler was the fourth architect to hold the role of chief surveyor since its inception in 1842. He took over from Frederick Caiger, who'd held the role since 1868, and was succeeded by his son, John [Dixon Butler], in 1895.