John Belcher

John Belcher (10 July 1841 – 8 November 1913) was an English architect, and president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He designed Chartered Accountants Hall (1890), one of the first neo-baroque buildings in London, and many of his later commissions are prime examples of lavish Edwardian municipal architecture. He was also known as a singer, cello player and conductor. Early life Belcher was born in Southwark, London on 10 July 1841. His father (1816–1890) of the same name was an established architect. They lived at 60 Trinity Church Square from 1849 to 1852. They had previously lived nearby at 3 Montague Terrace (now 8 Brockham Street), where Belcher was born in 1841. The son was articled with his father, spending two years in France from 1862, where he studied contemporary architecture, apparently more concerned with that promoted by Baron Haussman and Emperor Napoleon III than historic buildings. Career In 1865, Belcher was made a partner with his father, who retired in 1875. He was chairman of the first meeting of the Art Workers' Guild in 1884.