Charles Hodgson Fowler (2 March 1840 – 14 December 1910) was a prolific English ecclesiastical architect who specialised in building and, especially, restoring churches.
Fowler's initial appointment in Durham was as Clerk of Works at Durham Cathedral. 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:
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 [of Durham Cathedral], composed the usual red brick and lancet windows to great effect in his big town churches (St Paul, West Hartlepool 1885-6; St Ignatius, Hendon (Sunderland) 1889), and barn-like colliery ones (Bearpark 1877-9; Craghead 1914–21; Easington Colliery 1925-8). Between 1864 and 1895 he did a vast number of restorations, handling them sensitively but not slavishly (see the staircase at Ryton, 1886)."
"From outside the county, C. H. Fowler ... also restored much, with a similar dead hand"
"Hodgson Fowler was more sensitive [as a church restorer than Ewan Christian] (see also his new churches at Grove, 1882, St Alban Ordsall, 1901) ..."
" ... C. Hodgson Fowler of Durham (who did an admirably tactful restoration at Scawton in 1892) ..."
