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

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

– 20 March 1956, Bombay) was an English

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 a learned society of architects, established in 1917. It has headquarters in Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Mumbai, India. IIA is a member of International Union of Architects (UIA), Commonwealth Association ...

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

Career

Born in

in 1879 and educated at

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day 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 Nur ...

, Batley served his articles locally and in London leaving for India in 1913. In Bombay 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 a premier private members' club in the city of Mumbai, India. It is located at the triangular end of Azad Maidan in the Fort area of South Mumbai and is in close proximity of Chhatrapati Shivaji ...

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

Breach Candy Bhulabhai Desai Road, also well known by the old name Warden Road (and the part at and near the swimming pool as Breach Candy), is a niche up-market residential and semi-commercial locality of South Mumbai. The area has many famous landmarks b ...

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

Cusrow Baug Cusrow Baug is a Parsi residential colony on Colaba Causeway, Mumbai, India. Its residential blocks were completed between 1934 and 1959. The colony houses a Zoroastrian temple, computer centre, gymnasium, and sports club. It was designed by C ...

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 area, and to the east of ...

(1937–59) and its

Agiary A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and ''aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the bas ...

, 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 Breach Candy Hospital is a private hospital located in Mumbai, India. It is located in the Breach Candy area of South Mumbai. It is well known for the rich and famous patients that have been in the hospital. History It was established in ...

(1950). He became a visiting professor in the

J. J. School of Art The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art (Sir J. J. School of Art) is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, India, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai. The school grants bachelor's (B.F.A) degrees in Painting, ceramic, Metal work, ...

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 (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

'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

(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. Built in 1930s and renovated twice, it is now abandoned. Histo ...

* M. J. Library *

Vijali Ghar Vijali Ghar, also known as Electricity House, is an office building on Relief Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is an Art Deco building designed by Claude Batley. History Vijali Ghar was built in 1938. The building was a headquarters of the ...

* Shodhan House, Ahmedabad *

Jinnah House Jinnah House, also known as the South Court Mansion, is an unoccupied house in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of the city of Mumbai in India associated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan, and his ...

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 Academic staff of Sir J. J. School of Art British people in colonial India Architects from British India