Henry Bingham Towner (1909–1997) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architect. He is best known for designing churches in Southern England.

Biography

Early life

He was born and raised in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

, Sussex.Our Lady of Lourdes, Queen of Peace, Rottingdean
St Thomas of Canterbury, Mayfield
After giving up on becoming a Roman Catholic priest, he studied architecture.

Career

He started his architectural firm in Uckfield in 1938. He is best known for designing many churches in Sussex,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Surrey in South-East England, starting in the 1950s. For example, he designed St Wilfrid's Church in

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Da ...

in 1954. In 1957, he designed the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Queen of Peace located at Whiteway Lane in

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

and the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury in Mayfield. In 1959, he designed St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church in Bexleyheath and the Church of St Teresa of Avila in

Chiddingfold Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 road between Milford and Petworth. The parish includes the hamlets of Ansteadbrook, High Street Green and Combe Common ...

. Two years later, in 1961, he designed St Gabriel's Church, Billingshurst and started work on St Michael and All Angels Church in

Locksbottom Locksbottom is a suburb of south-east London within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Bromley Common, west of Crofton, north-west of Farnborough, and e ...

, Farnborough, Kent (completed in 1964). In 1962, he designed St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in East Worthing, Sussex, and a year later in 1963, St Thomas More's Church in

Patcham Patcham () is an area of the city of Brighton & Hove, about north of the city centre. It is bounded by the A27 (Brighton bypass) to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west. ...

, a suburb of Brighton. He designed the Chapel of the Holy Rood in

Pevensey Bay Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of ...

in 1964. In 1969, he designed an extension to the Church of St Thomas More in

Seaford, Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. In the Middle Ages, Se ...

and to the St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in

Moulsecoomb Moulsecoomb () is a suburb of Brighton, Sussex, England, on the northeast side around Lewes Road, between Coldean and Bevendean, north of the seafront. The eastern edge adjoins Falmer Hill on the South Downs. It is often divided into smalle ...

, a suburb of Brighton. The same year, he designed St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in

Milford, Surrey Milford is the civil parish and large village which is south west of Godalming in Surrey, England which was a small village in the early medieval period — it grew significantly after the building of the Portsmouth Direct Line which serve ...

. A year later, in 1970, he designed both Christ the King Catholic Church in

Langney Langney is a distinct part of Eastbourne, East Sussex and is on the eastern side of the popular seaside resort. The original village and priory have now been amalgamated with the main town of Eastbourne, and Langney was identified as a single se ...

near

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

and the Holy Family Church in

Lancing, West Sussex Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Towner, Henry Bingham 1909 births 1997 deaths People from Uckfield English ecclesiastical architects English Roman Catholics Architects of Roman Catholic churches 20th-century English architects Architects from Sussex