Samuel Sebastian Reay was born in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. in c.1867. He was articled by Richard Hardy (c.1851-1904) of Martin & Hardy in Nottingham from 1884 to 1888 and remained with the practice as their assistant until 1890. He then worked as an assistant to Charles Edwin Ponting (1850-1932) in 1880-81; and to Thomas Ball Silcock (1854-1924) from 1891. He joined Silcock in partnership as Silcock & Reay in Bath, Somerset in 1896 and qualified as an architect the following year. In 1913 Reay was appointed assistant director of barrack construction for the War Office.
Reay was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1897 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1902. He died in Bath on 1 February 1933 and is buried in St. Mary's Churchyard, Limpley Stoke, Wiltshire
For details of architectural projects by Samuel Sebastian Reay and Silcock & Reay see Historic England and Lesser-known British Architects [links below]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001