George Fowler Jones

George Fowler Jones (25 January 1818[1] – 1 March 1905) was an architect and early amateur photographer who was born in Scotland but based for most of his working life in York.

He studied under architect William Wilkins, the designer of Yorkshire Museum and the National Gallery, assisting him with the plates for his work on Vitruvius; then in around 1839 in London under Sir Sydney Smirke.

When Smirke undertook repairs to the fire-damaged York Minster in the early 1840s, including revolutionary iron roof trusses, he sent Jones to take measurements.

A few years later Jones designed similar iron roof trusses for one of his early commissions, Castle Oliver in Ireland.

Jones was elected Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) on 17 February 1868, proposed by Decimus Burton, Sydney Smirke and Ewan Christian.

[2] He married firstly Anne, in 1848, the 3rd daughter of Dr William Matterson of Minster Yard, York, (Lord Mayor).

With his 2nd wife: Fanny Katherine 1858–1936; Constance 1860–1930; Harry Mckenzie 1861–1948 (moved to Valparaiso, Chile, descendants now in Santiago; Montague 1864–1935; Robert Colquhoun 1865–1952; Edith 1867–1946; Lucy 1870–1914.

A vast body of his photographic work, dating from the very earliest days of photography, now resides at the National Media Museum, Bradford.

The collection spans Jones' entire career and includes images shot in Scotland, Ireland, Corsica, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand.