Freeman rows Thames and raises £1.8k for charity

Freeman Ben Fowler has raised £1,766 for our charity by rowing 22 miles of the River Thames in the renamed Great River Race on Saturday 10 September.

Known as London’s other marathon, the Great River Race was named the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Pageant for 2022, in respect of the monarch’s death a couple of days earlier.

The pageant followed the race’s traditional route, starting in Greenwich and finishing in Richmond. Although no official times were taken this year, Ben and his crew rowed the 22 miles in an impressive two hours 45 minutes.

A lifelong rower and boat lover, Ben’s passion for the sport led him to spend two years working for Mark Edwards MBE, boat builder to the Queen, learning boatbuilding from him after graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1984.

Ben said: “It was a very convivial and friendly day, as it always is. Thank you for all your support. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, as I believe the Queen would have, she was a great lover of boats. Hence her delight in receiving Gloriana [built by Mark for the Queen’s 2012 Jubilee]. Indeed, she took Mark and various other key people who designed and built her out on the river in Windsor for a row and cup of tea.”

Ben’s first-hand knowledge of boat building informs many of his designs today. Working out of a workshop in Newhaven, East Sussex, Ben’s company Fowler & Co offers a complete furniture design and manufacture service: from bespoke joinery to consultancy on architectural projects and product prototyping. Ben has won numerous Design Guild Marks, with his first awarded in 2014 for Hat Tree. 

The Furniture Makers’ Company would like to thank Ben for supporting our charity.