Richard Reynolds Rowe, the son of Alderman Richard Rowe, came from an old Cambridgeshire family with records dating back to the Crusades. To avoid confusion with his father, he was generally known as Reynolds. Having "started his professional life more as an engineer than as an architect" ("The Architect"), he became an associate of RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) in 1854, and of ICE (the Institution of Civil Engineers) in the following year. As Borough Surveyor from 1850-69, he was very much involved with sewerage projects, bridges, and so forth, also serving as Clerk of Works for Sir George Gilbert Scott at Ely Cathedral, in which capacity he produced a long paper on the cathedral's octagon and lantern for RIBA in 1876.
An ardent Conservative and a staunch member of the Church of England, Rowe took many roles in the community, serving at various times as town councillor, churchwarden, hospital governor and so on. He was also a Knight of the Order of St. John. Although Rowe built houses, built or restored several local churches, and is generally credited with having designed the Red Cow public house on Exchange Street, Cambridge (1898), he is now mainly known as the architect of the Cambridge Corn Exchange (1875-76).
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Works
Sources
"The Architect." St Matthew's Church, Cambridge. Web. 23 June 2011.
"The Cambridge Corn Exchange" (navigate to see a panoramic view of the interior). Cambridge City Council. Web. 23 July 2011.
Chater, Josiah. Victorian Cambridge: Josiah Chater's Diaries, 1844-1884. Andover: Phillimore, 1975.
"Corn Exchange, Cambridge." British Listed Buildings.. Web. 23 July 2011.
Curl, James Stevens. Victorian Architecture. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1990.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire. London: Penguin, 2nd ed. 1970.
"The Red Cow Public House, Cambridge." British Listed Buildings.. Web. 23 July 2011.
Last modified 25 July 2011