Howard, Frank Ernest 1888 - 1934

Frank Ernest Howard [commonly known as F. E. Howard] was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England on 28 September 1888 and was a pupil of John Ninian Comper (1864-1960). He subsequently practised as an architect and craftsman in Oxford and specialised in the design and restoration of ecclesiastical furnishings and interiors, a subject on which he wrote extensively. He collaborated with the wood carver Frederick Herbert Crossley (1868-1955) who was also an authority on Medieval English architecture, church furnishings and also timberwork, in writing 'English Church Woodwork: a Study in Craftsmanship during the Mediaeval Period A.D. 1250–1550 (London: Batsford, 1917), a seminal book on the subject.

Much of Howard's work as a craftsman was done under the auspices of the Warham Guild, an Anglican organization of craftsmen and artisans founded in London in 1912.

During the years following World War One he received numerous commissions to design or contribute to the design of war memorials including for Radclive-cum-Chackmore, Buckinghamshire (1919); Cassington, Oxfordshire (1919); Northmoor, Oxfordshire (1919); Balsham, South Cambridgeshire (1919); Adelstrop, Gloucestershire (1920); Headington Quarry, Oxfordshire (1920); Cherwell, Oxfordshire (1920); Long Melford, Suffolk (1920); Bagshot, Surrey (1920); Cathedral, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk (c.1920); Stowlangtoft,, Suffolk (c.1920); Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire (1921); Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire (1921).

His address was given as 24 Polstead Road, Oxford in 1911 and 1933 and Polstead Boar Hill, Oxford in 1933 and 1934. He died in Oxford on 15 April 1934

A biographical file on Frank Ernest Howard is available on request at the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects Library, London