William Jay (16 November 1792Historic Savannah Inventory">Building Data Sheet, Historic Savannah Inventory
, Anson Ward card number 1917 April 1837) was an architect. He continued his father's and grandfather's interest in stonemasonry and building design.William Jay (c. 1792–1837)
The New Georgia Encyclopaedia, published November 1, 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2012.Bradbury, Oliver C
''William Jay's English Works after 1822: Recent Discoveries''
Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, Volume 43, 2000 (archived on JTOR.org). Retrieved 26 January 2012. Jay was born in Bath. His father was also William Jay, who had started working with his father as a stonemason, but became a Congregationalist minister. In 1807 the younger William became an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

of the architect and surveyor David Riddall Roper. Jay's designs for Surrey Chapel Almshouses were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814. He designed Dr. Fletcher's Albion Chapel in London, laying the foundation stone the following year. In 1817 he moved to the United States for four years, where he established as an architect in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. His American work includes the Owens-Thomas House, the

William Scarbrough House William Scarbrough House is a historic house in Savannah, Georgia. Built in 1819, and subjected to a number later alterations, it is nationally significant as an early example of Greek Revival architecture, and is one of the few surviving Americ ...

Telfair Academy The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. O ...

, and

The Savannah Theatre The Savannah Theatre, first opened in 1818 and located on Chippewa Square (Savannah, Georgia), Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the United States' oldest continually-operating theatres. The structure has been both a live performanc ...

. The design of the Bulloch–Habersham House, which he designed, would later be replicated with the

Habersham Memorial Hall Habersham Memorial Hall is a historic building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building, named in honor of Joseph Habersham, was designed by Henry Hornbostel to serve as the headquarters for the local chapter of the Daughters of the Am ...

. When the economy of Georgia collapsed in 1822, Jay returned to England and worked primarily in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

. Later, he went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

and in 1836 moved with his family to the island of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, where he was an architect and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

until his death in

Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...

Notable works

File:Georgia20131014 300 Telfair Academy.jpg, Telfair Family Mansion, Savannah, Georgia File:Georgia20131014 271 William Scarbrough House - Copy.jpg, William Scarborough House, Savannah, Georgia File:Theaters -- New Theatre, Savannah Ga.jpg, Savannah Theatre, Savannah, Georgia, in its original form File:Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, Georgia, USA.jpg, 21 West Bay Street, Savannah, Georgia

Family

In 1827, Jay married Louisa Coulson of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

. They had three children between 1829 and 1835; the oldest child, also William, died soon after the family's arrival in Mauritius at the age of six. Jay's widow and other two children returned to England after his death.

Notable works

Family

References

Further reading