Charmouth St. Andrews Church Fowler Architect

The architect chosen by the village to build a new Church in 1836 was Charles Fowler. He originated from Collompton in Devon, and was to carry out a number of commissions in that county, including the River Dart bridge at Totnes, the market at Tavistock and the Lower Market at Exeter.He was also responsible for considerable additions and alterations to Powderham Castle for the Courteney family.
But he later set up his practise in London. It is an interesting fact that Sir John Hawkshaw, the famous Railway engineer started his first 5 years training in his Office. The same gentleman was to purchase much of both Charmouth and Lyme Regis in an attempt in the year 1864 to connect Bridport and Lyme with a Railway line, with a planned Station on what is the playing Field, behind the shops, today. But due to competition from GWR it was abandoned. Even more interesting as a footnote is the fact that later the same John Hawkshaw was to build Charing Cross Railway Station in the same year, on the site of Fowler`s earlier Italianate Hungerford Market. This building had been designed by Fowler and opened in 1833. He designed many other Market buildings, the most famous, which is still standing is that in Covent Garden. This was commissioned by the Duke of Bedford in 1826 to house the market in the Piazza, which until then had been accommodated in sheds and hovels. At Honiton , Devon, Fowler built the church of St Paul (1837-8) . His other ecclesiastical work included a chapel at Kilburn, St John The Evangelist, Hyde Park (1829-32). St Andrew's church at Charmouth (1836); and the rebuilding and enlargement of the church at Bickleigh, Devon (1838). All these except the chapel at Kilburn were in the Gothic style. At Syon Park, the commission for the new Conservatory was given to Charles Fowler.