FAWCETT, William F. (1845 - 1924) was active in Strathroy, Ont. where he worked as an architect and contractor, and was likely a member of the Fawcett Brothers 'contractors' who prepared the plans for a brick mansion 'for Mr. Rapley', and another residence 'for Mr. Manson', both erected in Strathroy in 1870. In 1876 William Fawcett was credited with the design of the Roman Catholic Church and adjacent Rectory in Strathroy, and in 1881 he was noted as ‘the architect and contractor’ of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in nearby Kerwood, Ont., located four miles west of Strathroy. Born in Leeds, England on 12 March 1845, Fawcett arrived in Canada after 1865 and settled in Hamilton, Ont. before moving to Detroit, Mich. "....where he built many fine residences", and he was said to have built [and may have designed] the first glass greenhouse in the City of Cleveland.
No information has been found on his activity in Ontario after 1881, but he is likely the same "William Fawcett, Architect" who was recorded as living and working in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in the North West Territories in 1889. In that town, he was credited with the design of St. Anne's Roman Catholic Convent (1889), and in 1892 he was commissioned to design Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Prince Albert, a substantial brick ecclesiastical landmark which was later replaced in 1914 by a new Roman Catholic Cathedral in that town. In 1894 Fawcett moved to Duck Lake, Sask. (south of Prince Albert) and continued to live and work there for the next thirty years until his death on 9 October 1924 (obituary and list of works Prince Albert Times, 10 Oct. 1924, 1 & 6; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
(works in Ontario)
STRATHROY, ONT., a brick mansion for Mr. Rapley, 1870 (London Free Press, 28 Feb. 1870, 3)
STRATHROY, ONT., a residence for Mr. Manson, 1870 (London Free Press, 28 Feb. 1870, 3)
STRATHROY, ONT., All Saints Roman Catholic Church and Rectory Front Street East, 1876 (The Age [Strathroy], 3 Nov. 1876, 5, descrip.)
KERWOOD, ONT., St. Paul's Anglican Church, 1881 (History of St. Paul's Church Kerwood, Ontario 1880-1981, pub. 1981, 10)
(works in Saskatchewan)
PRINCE ALBERT, SASK., St. Anne's Roman Catholic Convent, 1889 (Prince Albert Times, 26 July 1889, 1; and 29 Nov. 1889, 4; and 13 Dec. 1889, 4, detaiied descrip.; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
PRINCE ALBERT, SASK., Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, 1892; later replaced with a new Cathedral in 1914 (Prince Albert Times, 10 Oct. 1924, 1 & 6, list of works in obituary)
PRINCE ALBERT, SASK., residence for William Plaxton, c. 1892 (Prince Albert Times, 10 Oct. 1924, 1 & 6, list of works in obituary)
DUCK LAKE., SASK., All Saints Anglican Church, c. 1900 (Prince Albert Times, 10 Oct. 1924, 1 & 6, list of works in obituary)