John Frederick Fogerty was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1863 and was the son of the architect and painter William Fogerty (1833?-1878). He studied engineering at Queen's College, Cork, from 1880 to 1883 and at the National Art Training School in South Kensington in London in 1884. He also attended Trinity College, Dublin and the Royal University in Dublin [dates unclear]. In 1884 he was articled to Thomas Drew (1838-1910) in Dublin. He subsequently worked in the office of the chief engineer of the Great Western Railway in Paddington, London, and as an assistant in the office of his cousin who was an engineer at the Lillenhall engineering company in Shropshire.
Fogerty commenced independent practice as an architect in Wellington, Shropshire in 1889 and in 1893 formed a partnership with Reginald George Pinder in Bournemouth, Hampshire [now Dorset]. The practice amalgamated with another architectural firm, Pearce & Parnell, in Bournemouth, in 1902.
Fogerty qualified as an architect in 1894 and later that year was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA). During his time in Bournemouth he designed East Cliff Hall (1894), a mansion for Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes, now the Russell Coates Art Gallery and Museum.
In 1914 Fogerty emigrated with his wife to South Africa. During World War One he served in the Army in South Africa, the Isle of Wight, Palestine and Poona, India. Following the war, he returned to South Africa and was employed as an engineer in the Public Works Department in Pretoria. In 1926 he was posted to Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] where he served as Borough Surveyor.
In addition to his work as an architect, Fogerty was also a painter and exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin between 1886 and 1895. He died in Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] on 12 June 1938. At least one painting by Fogerty is in the permanent collection of the Russell-Cotes Art Galley and Museum in Bournemouth, Dorset.
A biographical file on John Frederick Fogerty is available on request at the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects, Library, London
Connett, Maureen. ‘High Victoriana’. [Discusses the design of East Cliff House (now Russell-Cotes Museum) in Bournemouth by John Frederick Fogerty for Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes] Traditional Homes vol. 7, no. 8, May 1991, pp. 37-38.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Jones, Stephen. ‘Bournemouth belle epoque’ [Discusses the design of East Cliff House (now Russell-Cotes Museum) in Bournemouth by John Frederick Fogerty for Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes] Country Life vol. 184, no. 46, 15 November 1990 pp. 46-51.
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 46, 1939, p. 690