Claude Batley F.R.I.B.A., F.I.A.A., (17 October 1879 in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

– 20 March 1956,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who as practitioner, teacher and President of the

Indian Institute of Architects The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) is the national body of Architects in India with more than 1,24,000 members. It was established in 1917 with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is associated with the International Union of Architects ( ...

from 1921 to 1923, played an influential role in development of modern architecture in India in the first half of the 20th century. Claude Batley

Career

Born in

in 1879 and educated at

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nursery ...

, Batley served his articles locally and in London leaving for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1913. In

he started a successful independent architectural practice in 1917 with partners Gregson and King, a firm of architects which is still extant under the name of Gregson, Batley and King. Among his works are the

Bombay Gymkhana The Bombay Gymkhana, established in 1875, is one of the premiere gentlemen clubs in the city of Mumbai, India. Bombay Gymkhana Rugby Club (rugby union) are tenants. It is located in the Fort area of South Mumbai area and was originally built a ...

(1917); Lincoln House (1933), previously Wankaner House, Breach Candy;

Bombay Central Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express tr ...

Station (1930); Dariya Mahal, residence of Maharaja of Cutch (1930), South Court (1936), residence of Mohamed Ali Jinnah; Round Building (1937), Cusrow Baug in

Colaba Causeway Colaba Causeway, officially known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, is a commercial street, and a major causeway or land link between Colaba and the Old Woman's Island in the city of Mumbai, India. It lies close to the Fort (Mumbai precinct), Fort ar ...

(1937–59) and its

Agiary A fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh ( fa, آتشکده), Atashgah () or Dar-e Mehr () is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see ''atar''), together wi ...

, known as The Seth Nusserwanji Hirji Karani Agiary (1938), Bombay Club (1939) later Hotel Nataraj and now Inter-Continental Mumbai, Lalbhai House (1942) and Breach Candy Hospital (1950). He became a visiting professor in the J. J. School of Art in the year 1914, and its principal in the year 1923. He held this post for a period of 20 years, during which he took his students on trips all over the country making measure drawings of buildings of architectural significance. He spent a lot of time in research and documented

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

's architecture. He was the president of the "Bombay Architectural Association" (now merged into The

) from 1925 to 1926. He died 1956 in one of the buildings he had designed — The Bombay Club.

Buildings

* Bombay Gymkhana in 1917 * Lincoln House Mumbai 1933 *

Ahmedabad Town Hall The Ahmedabad Town Hall, officially Sheth Mangaldas Girdhardas Memorial Hall, is an auditorium in Ahmedabad, India. It is named after Mangaldas Girdhardas, a textile industrialist. History The town hall was constructed in 1930s as a memorial ...

* M. J. Library * Vijali Ghar *

Jinnah House Jinnah House is an unoccupied house in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of the city of Mumbai in India associated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is also known as South Court and Malabar Hill mansion. It was built by ...

* Breach Candy Hospital

References

External links

Claude Batley: Mumbai/Bombay pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batley, Claude 1879 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Indian architects 20th-century English architects Architects from Ipswich People educated at Ipswich School Sir J. J. School of Art faculty British people in colonial India