Background
Charles Webb was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England on 26 November 1821, as the youngest of nine children.
Charles Webb was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England on 26 November 1821, as the youngest of nine children.
Notable Webb designs include the iconic Windsor Hotel, Royal Arcade, South Melbourne Town Hall and Tasma Terrace, all listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. After being apprentice at an architect in London, in 1847 he became the secretary of the London Architectural Students" Society. Their first important commission was for the Street Paul"s Church on Swanston Street in 1850.
In this period he designed several public buildings, including the Wesley College (1864), Alfred Hospital (1869), Royal Arcade (1869), South Melbourne Town Hall (1878), Melbourne Orphan Asylum (1878) and the Grand Hotel later renamed Hotel Windsor (1884).
In 1856 he was a founding member of the Victorian Institute of Architects, and between 1882-1883 the organisation"s president