Charles Fowler
Charles Fowler (17 May 1792 – 26 September 1867) was an English architect, born at Cullompton, Devon. He is especially noted for his design of market buildings, including Covent Garden Market in London.
Life
Education and early work
Fowler was born at Cullompton, Devon on 17 May 1792 and educated at Taunton Grammar SchoolAfter serving an apprenticeship of seven years with John Powning of Exeter, he moved to London in 1814, and entered the office of David Laing, where he assisted him on the designs for the Custom House. He then set up his own practice, working from an address in Great Ormond Street, and later, from 1830, at 1, Gordon Square.
Fowler generally worked in a classical style, often freely interpreted. Thomas Leverton Donaldson described him as "gifted with a practical rather than an imaginative turn of mind.". An important early work was the court of bankruptcy in Basinghall Street, finished in 1821. This was a substantial brick building, raised over a granite basement and stuccoed in imitation of rusticated stonework. It had a courtyard, two sides of which had open arcades, supported on square granite columns.
