William FOWLER

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  General Notes:

This account of the Fowler family would be incomplete without some further reference to William Fowler, the eminent antiquary and engraver. He was the oldest son of Joseph and Mary Tomlinson Fowler, and brother of Mary Fowler Rusling (my grandmother). He was born March 12, 1761, at Winterton, England, and died there September 22, 1832. He was bred a carpenter, after his father, and succeeded to his father's business; but afterwards grew to be a builder and architect, and prospered considerably. Later he became interested in ancient Roman tessellated pavements, occurring frequently in Lincolnshire and elsewhere in England, and in-old stained glass windows in country-houses, churches, cathedrals, etc., there, and from 1796 to 1829 gave himself up to drawing and engraving them. He taught himself to draw and etch very skilfully, and made his own copper-plates,' most of them very large and difficult. His sister Ann and son Joseph assisted him in drawing and coloring them. He traversed all England, though finding most in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and created an industry and art quite his own. He published his engravings in parts, and sold them to the best people in England. He was patronized by George III, the royal family, Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., member of Privy Council, Hon. Admiral Shirley, the Archbishop of York, Bishop of Ely, Bishop of Oxford, Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, Dean and Chapter of Durham, the Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Devonshire, Duke of Northumberland, Duke of Wellington, Sir Walter Scott, and other leading literati and celebrities of the day, and acquired not only distinction, but a goodly competency also. His engravings were gathered into three large volumes, 27 inches by 20 inches, and are now found in the British Museum, Bodleian and other libraries in Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Edinburgh, and elsewhere in England and Scotland. His grandson, Rev. Dr. Fowler (of Winterton and Durham), gave a complete set of these to my son James W. in 1896, with the request that they be left to some University or public library, if we ceased to care for them. They are now very rare, and are greatly prized by lovers of " Fine and Curious Books," etc. We prize them very highly, indeed, both as treasures of art and family heirlooms, and trust our descendants will never part with them.



……….In 1747 Mr. George Stovin, the antiquary, of Crowle and Winterton, wrote to Dr. Stukeley to tell him about the discovery of the larger Winterton pavement. Stukeley mentions in his diary the receipt of this letter, and also of a drawing, with an account of what they found in clearing the pavement. My greatgrandfather, Joseph Fowler, was about thirteen years old at the time. .... Mr. Stovin died in 1780, and may possibly have inspired with a taste for antiquities my grandfather, William Fowler, the antiquary and engraver, who was born in 1761. His first engraving, however, was not issued till 1798, from a drawing which he made in 1796, sixteen years after Mr. Stovin's death. The engraving was made by J. Hill, in London. My grandfather went to see the process, and, having seen it, thought he could do that himself, and from that time he etched all his own copperplates here at Winterton, about 114 in number, except that of the Horkstow pavement, which was engraved by Hill. The smaller pavement at Winterton, that representing Ceres with the Cornucopia, was discovered in rather a curious way in 1797. While my grandfather was examining the larger pavement, probably comparing his drawing with the original, some pupils of Mr. Grainger, of Winteringham, Henry Kirke White the poet being one of the party, amused themselves during a passing shower, while standing under the hedge in the dry ditch at the side of the field, by poking earth at one another with the ends of their sticks. This led to their coming on the edge of the previously unknown pavement, and it was at once uncovered. The engraving is not dated, but was one of the first that my grandfather both drew and etched himself. From 1798 to 1829 he was indefatigable in bringing out his splendid hand-coloured engravings of Roman pavements, painted glass, monumental slabs, and architectural subjects. He was a regular communicant, and never known to be absent from church service when at home; at the same time he was a class-leader among the early Methodists, and it used to be said it was hard to tell "whether he was more of a Methodist or a Catholic." He died in 1832, and was succeeded by my father, who inherited antiquarian tastes, and lived to see two of his sons Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries. ^{1 2}