Charles Fowler

He was educated at Taunton Grammar School[1] After serving an apprenticeship of seven years with John Powning of Exeter,[2][3] he moved to London in 1814, and entered the office of David Laing, where he assisted him on the designs for the Custom House.

[2] In 1818 Fowler began work on the new market at Gravesend in Kent, with a pair of colonnades, 80 feet long, connected by a covered building at one end.

[6] In around 1826, the Duke of Bedford commissioned him to construct buildings to house the market in the Piazza at Covent Garden, which until then had been accommodated in sheds and hovels.

[2] His involvement with the project predated his designs for Covent Garden, as he had been asked to survey the site as early as 1824, but the act allowing the work and incorporating the company was not enacted until May 1830.

[10] Fowler's roof there was of an experimental design, incorporating cast-iron ribs supporting a cement and tile covering; this, however, had to be replaced due to the excessive amount of condensation it collected.

He was also responsible for the London Fever Hospital[2] in Liverpool Road, Islington, a commission he received due to the influence of the Earl of Devon.

[15] He entered many architectural competitions,[2] coming third in the contest for the Nelson monument in Trafalgar Square with a proposal submitted jointly with the sculptor R.W.

[17] He was employed by Sir Ralph Lopes, the Bishop of Exeter, and the Courtenay family for whom he executed considerable alterations and additions to Powderham Castle.