Charles John Allen was a British sculptor, a figure in the New Sculpture

New Sculpture

The New Sculpture refers to a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture.The term "New Sculpture" was coined by the first historian of the movement, the critic Edmund Gosse, who wrote a four-part series for the Art Journal in 1894...

 movement.

Born in Greenford, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, Allen studied at the Lambeth School of Art

Lambeth School of Art

Lambeth School of Art was founded in 1854 by William Gregory as a night school associated with the St. Mary the Less Church in London.-History:...

 and then apprenticed with the London architectural sculpture firm Farmer & Brindley

Farmer & Brindley

Farmer & Brindley was a firm of architectural sculptors and ornamentalists based in London, founded by William Farmer and William Brindley , who contributed to some of the greatest structures of the Victorian era....

 in 1879 and became the assistant to Hamo Thornycroft

Hamo Thornycroft

Sir William "Hamo" Thornycroft, RA was a British sculptor, responsible for several London landmarks.-Biography:...

 for four years. In 1894 Allen moved to Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, where he spent more than thirty years as a respected teacher at the University of Liverpool and Vice-Principal at the Liverpool City School of Art.

Work at:

• two allegorical panels for St. George's Hall, Liverpool
  St. George's Hall, Liverpool
  St George's Hall is on Lime Street in the centre of the English city of Liverpool, opposite Lime Street railway station. It is a building in Neoclassical style which contains concert halls and law courts, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
  
  , 1894
• work at the Liverpool University College (now University of Liverpool
  University of Liverpool
  The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
  
  ) with architect Alfred Waterhouse
  Alfred Waterhouse
  Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
  
  , 1895
• frieze for the Royal Insurance Building, Liverpool
  Royal Insurance Building, Liverpool
  The Royal Insurance Building is located at 1–9 North John Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was built as the head office of the Royal Insurance Company, but became disused in the late 1980s. Its condition deteriorated so much that it was placed on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk...
  
  , circa 1897
• panels and other work for the Peres Bank, Leicester
  Leicester
  Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
  
  , circa 1900
• the 1906 monument to Queen Victoria, Liverpool, Allen's masterwork
• architectural sculpture for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Building
  Port of Liverpool Building
  The Port of Liverpool Building , is a Grade II* listed building located in Liverpool, England. It is sited at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Liver Building and Cunard Building is one of Liverpool's "Three Graces", which line the city's waterfront...
  
  , 1927