Claude Batley

Born: 1879, Ipswich, England.
Died: March 20, 1956, Bombay, India.

Born in Ipswich, England in the year 1879, Claude Batley came to India in 1913 after qualifying as an architect. In 1917 he started his enormously successful practice with 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 (1917), Wakaner House (1933) now the American Consulate, Bombay Central Station (1930), Jinnah House (1935), Round Building (1937), Cusrow Baug (1937-59) and its Agiary (1938), Bombay Club (1939) now the Nataraj Hotel, Lalbhai House (1942) and Breach Candy Hospital (1950).

He became a visiting professor in the J. J. School of Arts in the year 1914, and its principal in the year 1923. He held this post for a period of 20 year, 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's architecture. He was the president of the "Bombay Architectural Association" (now merged into The Indian Institute of Architects) from 1925 to 1926.

He died in the mid 50's in one of the buildings he had designed-- the Bombay Club.