J. S. Crowther

Joseph Stretch Crowther
Born	1820 England
Died	March 1893
Nationality	English
Occupation	Architect

Joseph Stretch Crowther (1820 – March 1893) (usually known as J. S. Crowther) was an English architect who practised in Manchester.

Crowther studied under Richard Tattersall from 1838 to 1843. He then worked as a managing clerk for Henry Bowman until 1846, when Bowman took him into partnership, the firm being known as Bowman and Crowther. In 1845 Bowman and Crowther published a book titled Churches of the Middle Ages (with a second edition in 1853). A reviewer for The Ecclesiologist praised it for its "accurate illustrations of some of the finest examples of our old churches". The partnership started by designing churches for the Unitarians, including chapels at Hyde, Cheshire, and in Leeds, Yorkshire. The authors of the Buildings of England series consider that the best of these was at Bury, built in 1852, but since demolished.

When Crowther established his own practice, his earlier works were in the Gothic Revival manner of George Gilbert Scott. His first independent work was the church of St Philip, Alderley Edge (1851–1852). He moved to live in Alderley Edge, where he built a house for himself, Redclyffe Grange. The Buildings of England authors consider that Crowther's best churches of this period were St Mary, Hulme (1853–1858), St Alban, Cheetwood (1857–1864, since demolished), and St Mary, Bury. He later incorporated Perpendicular features in his designs, for example in St Chad, Rochdale, (1884–85) where he added a chancel and chapels, and Holy Trinity, Littleborough, (1889) where he added the chancel, The Buildings of England authors consider that Crowther's "most creative" church was St Benedict, Ardwick, (1877–1880) with large high-set windows, an Italianate tower, and an attached clergy house.

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