Charles Henry Rew (1842-1912) trained as an engineer, these skills underpinning the rest of his architectural career at first in London working under GE Street then in partnership with Charles Driver, before moving to Berkhamsted in the mid 1880's. For the next 27 years Rew was consistently chosen as the architect for all major building projects in Town, whether re-ordering St Peters Church (1886-8), being responsible for all of the school buildings from this period , installing the town's sewage works , as well as designing numerous houses, ranging from modest terrace houses in New Street to majestic residences which mark the expanding suburbs of the commuter town.
Sadly , a number of Rew contributions to Berkhamsted have been demolished or severely altered, but much remains, and the illustrated talk and tour will identify many of these survivals. With the help of hitherto unseen plans and drawings , participants will learn to spot Rew's trademark architectural features and appreciate the carefully engineered designs , whilst at the same time understanding how these evolved in response to one of the dramatic periods of social, architectural, and technological change.
In the latter years , Charles worked in partnership with his son Noel (1881-1971) who would continue to design many of Berkhamsted's C20th buildings. We will pick up too on his involvement and compare his contribution to the streetscapes of Berkhamsted with that of his father.
