He was educated at St Peter's College School, Peterborough, and in May 1891 obtained a Queen's prize for Science.

After completing his apprenticeship, Rowledge was employed as a draughtsman at R. Hoe & Co., a London-branch of an American printing machine company, and henceforth took an interest in intricate mechanisms, which would be pivotal in his later work.

After a brief period working for Easton, Anderson & Goolden, boilermakers, in 1901 Rowledge joined D. Napier & Son as a designer, primarily working on automobiles, and during this period the Napier car won the Gordon Bennett Cup and built what is generally considered to be the first 6-cylinder motor car.

The Lion engine was developed to a power of 450hp by the end of the war, and claimed numerous records in the post-war period, for example winning the 1919 Aerial Derby.

[6] In 1921 Rowledge resigned from Napier and took up a position at Rolls-Royce Limited as "Chief Assistant to Mr F. H. Royce", where he became known as 'Rg' in company shorthand.