Joseph William Rowell was a renowned architect who designed the several rows of cottages in the Meadfoot area of Torquay. Over his career Rowell was responsible for the design of a large number of buildings in Newton Abbot and Torquay, and the surrounding areas. In Torquay he was appointed architect to the Torwood Estate, planning houses in the Ellacombe valley from 1859 for Sir Lawrence Palk.