Frederick William Stevens
Frederick William Stevens (1847-1900), architectural engineer who worked for the British colonial government in India.
Designer of public works and civil engineer in Bombay.
1847 November 11th. Born in Bath the eldest son of Matthew Stevens.
Stevens' most notable design was the Victoria Terminus, Bombay (in 1996 renamed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai).
Stevens also designed the Municipal Corporation Building, the Royal Alfred Sailor's Home, the Post-Office Mews at Apollo Bunder, the head offices of the BB&CI Railway at Churchgate, and the Oriental Life Assurance Offices at the Flora Fountain
1900 March 3rd. Died aged 52.
1900 Obituary [1]
FREDERICIC WILLIAM STEVENS, C.I.E., born at Bath in 1848, began his professional career as a pupil in the office of Mr. Charles Edward Davis, engineer and architect, and Surveyor of Works to the Corporation of Bath.
As the result of competitive examination he was appointed in 1867 to the Public Works Department of the Government of India as an Assistant Engineer. He was attached to the office in Bombay of the Architect to Government, General Fuller, R.E., and at the close of 1868 was transferred to the office of the Architectural Executive Engineer and Surveyor.
In 1876 he was appointed Government Examiner to the Bombay School of Art, and in the following year his services were placed at the disposal of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway for the purpose of designing the terminal station at Bori Bunder, which is a fine example of his creative skill. This terminus, which is stated to be the largest building erected in Asia in modern times, was constructed in 1879 under his superintendence, and his public services were acknowledged by his being elected a Fellow of Bombay University.
Mr. Stevens retired from the Public Works Department in 1884, and in 1888 he was selected by the Corporation of Bombay to design and superintend the erection of the great pile of Municipal Buildings in that city.
In the following year he was created a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire "for services rendered in connection with public buildings in Bombay."
He also designed the administrative offices of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, the Royal Alfred Sailors’ Home, the Post Office mews on the Apollo Bunder, the Government House at Naina Tal, and several other buildings. Mr. Stevens was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and he secured medals for architectural and engineering designs at the Bombay Exhibitions of 1872 and 1879; indeed he may be said to have contributed towards the embellishment of that city much that is best in its architectural beauty.
Mr. Stevens died at his residence, Nepean Road, Malabar Hill, on the 5th March, 1900, aged 52. He was an artist in the true sense of that term; his profession was not merely the labour, it was also the delight of his life; and even when on leave he was not happy unless accompanied by his drawing-board.
Mr. Stevens was elected an Associate of the Institution on the 5th December, 1871, and was subsequently placed in the class of Associate Members.
1900 Obituary [2]