James Grey West

Sir James Grey West OBE (1885 – 15 June 1951) was a British architect. Born and trained in Cardiff, Wales, West joined the government Office of Works in 1904, eventually succeeding Sir Richard Allison as chief architect in 1934.[1]

Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, designed by West and completed in 1933

West worked on Bromyard House, the former Ministry of Pensions building in Acton, London (1914–1922), said to be the largest single building in Britain at the time.[2] He designed the hall of Royal Air Force College at Cranwell, Lincolnshire (1929–1933) in the seventeenth-century style of Sir Christopher Wren.[3] West also worked on the Duveen Wing of the National Portrait Gallery (1933), with Allison,[4] and also provided designs for the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast (1933).[5] As chief architect, he oversaw the building of Thomas Tait's St. Andrew's House in Edinburgh (1935–39).[6] He was knighted in 1936. During the Second World War, West was appointed Director of Post-War Planning, as well as being chief architect of the reorganised Ministry of Works, until his retirement in 1945.[6]

References

1. "H M Office of Works (later Ministry of Works and Property Services Agency)". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
2. "Historic Acton building swaps Canadian WWII troops for west London key workers". Dominion Housing Group. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
3. "Military Buildings 1914–1945" (PDF). Military Buildings Selection Guide. English Heritage. March 2007. p. 7. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
4. "History of the National Portrait Gallery". Retrieved 17 September 2008.
5. "Royal Courts of Justice". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
6. "James Grey West". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 2008-09-17.