Through the Honourable East India Company Britain had trading interests in India from the start of the seventeenth century, and from the end of that century buildings began to be erected in India by its servants. From the late eighteenth century the British administrations in India took an increasing interest in public works, a responsibility generally of engineers who had initially been trained for military service. Much of their work was involved in the civil engineering of roads, railways, irrigation and public health, but there was also a demand for public buildings, whether associated with civil engineering or not. The designers of these buildings are generally referred to, anachronistically, as architects, although most held engineering positions in the Indian armies on latterly, public works departments. By looking at the careers of some of these 'architects', conclusions can be drawn about the professional training, architectural inspiration, structural approaches and project leadership of the creators of these buildings of British Empire. From this study it is suggested that, before 1900, in a meaningful sense, there were no 'architects of empire', but rather a cadre of engineers whose training enabled them to take on all tasks related to constructing a new built environment.