Cyril Arthur Farey was born in London, England on 28 April 1888 and was articled to Horace Field (1861-1948) from 1911 to 1913. He then worked as an assistant to Ernest Newton (1856-1922). He also attended the Architectural Association Schools and, from November 1910 to December 1920 at the Royal Academy Schools in London, where he was awarded the RA School Gold Medal in 1911. He was also awarded the Tite Prize in 1913 and the Soane Medallion in 1914.
After a brief partnership with Horace Field and Charles Evelyn Simmons (1879-1952) as Horace Field, Simmons & Farey in London, Farey commenced independent practice as an architect in London in 1913, and, from 1919, in Salisbury, Wiltshire. In the mid-1920s he worked on projects in Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, with Graham Richards Dawbarn (1893-1976).
Farey is considered to have been one of the finest British architectural draughtsman of his generation. Notable among his commissions as a draughtsman were technical drawings for Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in 1923
In 1947 he formed a partnership with his son, Michael Arthur James Farey (1916-1989) and John J. Adams.
With A Trystan Edwards, Farey was co-author of Architectural drawing, perspective & rendering : a handbook for students and draughtsmen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1931; London: Batsford, 2nd edition, 1949).
Farey was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1918 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1941. His address was given as 14 Hart Street, Bloomsbury, London in 1913; 19 Bedford Square, London in 1923; 7 Bedford Square, London; and 83 Prince Albert Road, Regent's Park, London in 1935 and 1954 He died at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, Marylebone, London on 7 December 1954.
A biographical file on Cyril Arthur Farey is available on request from the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects Library, London
"Thornfield", Wildwood Rise, N.W., 1914; houses at Hampstead, N.W., 1913-14; Bristol Housing, 1919-22; Holy Trinity Church Hall, Hounslow, 1924; Raffles College, Singapore (commenced 1925); house at Oxhey, 1925. N.B. [Scotland] — the last two (Singapore and Oxhey) are being carried out in conjunction with G. R. Dawbarn. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1926]
'All Hallows, North Greenford' [Architect: C. A. Farey] Architecture Illustrated September 1942 pp. 102-104
'Church at Grange Park (St. Peter)'. [Architect: Cyril Farey]. Architect & Building News 3 April 1942 pp. 8-10
'Church at Grange Park (St. Peter)'. [Architect: Cyril Farey] Architecture Illustrated March 1942 pp. 32-35
'Church at North Greenford, Middlesex. (All Hallows)'. [Architect: Cyril A. Farey.]. The Builder 1 May 1942 pp. 380-384
Cyril A. Farey (1888-1954) 'Fareyland': An exhibition of watercolours and drawings by Cyril Farey. London: Gallery Lingard, 1990
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Myerscough. '"Architect artists" no. 1: Cyril Arthur Farey'. Building, September 1944 pp. 228-231
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 187, 10 December 1954 p. 947
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 187, 17 December 1954 p. 976
Thirties: British Art and Design before the War. Thirties: British Art and Design before the War. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1979 [Catalogue of an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London, 25 October-13 January 1979]
Thumbnotes & masterpieces by Cyril Farey (1888-1954): Architectural sketches and watercolours between 1900-1925. London: Gallery Lingard, 1996
Who's Who in Architecture 1926, edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: Architectural Press 1926