Christopher Bowerbank

Christopher William Bowerbank (17 November 1940 – 25 April 2002) was an English architect and raconteur. Bowerbank's obituary in The Daily Telegraph described him as a ‘celebrated member of West London society and one of the best conversationalists of his generation’. Will Self recalled that Bowerbank had the ability to transition between the "haut, beau and demi-mondes". In his later years Bowerbank was said to resemble Beethoven. Bowerbank's Jaguar was said to be the inspiration behind the mode of transport to Penrith in Robinson's cult classic film Withnail and I.

At the time of Bowerbank's death he was engaged to Emma Soames, the editor of The Daily Telegraph magazine and granddaughter of Winston Churchill. According to his obituary in The Daily Telegraph, Bowerbank 'talked to everyone with the same charm and vigorous attack – whether it was Princess Margaret or the locals on his beloved Orkney island of Rousay, where he had a home for more than 25 years’.

Early life Christopher William Bowerbank was born on 17 November 1940 in Biddestone, Wiltshire. Bowerbank worked on both residential and commercial buildings and he was noted for his sympathetic restoration of listed buildings, particularly in London. His work often required complex negotiations with English Heritage and council planners. In 1990, he won an English Heritage award for his renovation work on The Convent in Stourhead, Wiltshire, which was Grade I listed.

Personal life From an early age, Bowerbank was an amateur ornithologist. For 25 years, Bowerbank had a home on the island of Orkney, Viera Lodge, where he entertained friends from London and engaged in his love of ornithology.

Bowerbank died in his sleep in Notting Hill on 25 April 2002, aged 61.