Claud John Kay [also known as Claude John Kay*] was born in Lower Beading, Sussex, England on 20 November 1878. He was articled to Frederick Wheeler (1853-1931) in London in 1893 and remained with him as his assistant. He also attended Regent Street Polytechnic in London. He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911. With Charles Richard Bayly Godman (1876-1946), he formed the architectural partnership Godman & Kay in Horsham, Sussex. The practice was active until at least the early 1950s.
He was chairman of the civil engineering firms Kaymat and HJ Kay Ltd. In 1914 he won First Prize in the "Country Life: National Competition for Suffolk Type of Cottage. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1932.
He died on 18 November 1969. His address at the time of his death was High Ridge, Kerves Lane, Horsham, Sussex, a house he had designed for himself in 1938.
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* His first name is given as Claud on his marriage certificate in 1908; in the England and Wales Census 1911; and the R.I.B.A. Kalendar up to the 1930-1931 edition. However, in the R.I.B.A. Kalendar 1932-1933 and later editions of the Kalendar it appears as Claude. It is also given as Claude in the National Probate Calendar
Kay designed several buildings in Horsham, Sussex, including the Capitol Theatre. In 1921 he designed the war memorials for Horsham and for Iden, near Rye, Sussex.
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