William
Butterfield
was born in London in 1814. His parents
were strict Nonconformists and
ran a chemist shop in the Strand. One of nine children, William was
educated at a local school and at sixteen was apprenticed to Thomas
Arber, a builder in Pimlico.
When Arber went bankrupt, Butterfield decided to set up business as
a professional architect. In 1840 he opened an office in Lincoln's
Inn Fields. His first important commission was St Augustine's College,
Canterbury. This was followed by a request to build a new church in
Bristol. These buildings were a great
success and over the next few years he built schools, churches and
several large houses.
All through the 1850s and 1860s Butterfield was earning over £2,000
a year in fees. A leading exponent of the Gothic revival he was the
architect of Balliol College Chapel, St
Albans, Holban and the chapel and quadrangle at Rugby
School. William Butterfield died in 1900.
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