Record

Entry TypePerson
SurnameKay
ForenamesJoseph
Epithetarchitect
Dates1775-1847
Gender IdentityMale
HistoryA pupil of Samuel Pepys Cockerill. In 1807 he married Sarah Henrietta, the eldest daughter of architect William Porden, for whom he acted as his assistant during the building of Eaton Hall, Cheshire. He was appointed surveyor to the Foundling Hospital in 1807, architect to the Post Office in 1811, and Surveyor of Works for Greenwich Hospital in 1823. He designed several handsome houses in Mecklenburgh Square, London in 1810 and the Post Office in Edinburgh in 1818-1819. His private clients included the Earl of Chichester, for whom he altered the exterior of Stanmer Park, Sussex in 1811-1812 and planned Pelham Crescent with the Church of St Mary-in-the-Castle in Hastings, East Sussex in 1828, the Thornhill family, for whom he supervised the development of their Islington estate from 1813, and the Marquess Camden, who employed him on his Camden Town estate. He was secretary of the London Architects' Club and took an active part in the formation of the Institute of British Architects, becoming one of its first vice-presidents.
RelationshipsHusband of Sarah Henrietta Porden. Father of Joseph Henry Kay.
SourceA Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 4th edition, 2008, by Howard Colvin
Authorised Form of NameKay; Joseph (1775-1847); architect

Show related Catalog records.

Add to My Items