James Williams

• Birth date            20 January 1824 at Chelsea, London
• Marriage              1851-1861 to Jane
• Death date          8 November 1892 at Brompton (probate record)

Born on 20 January 1824, James Williams entered H.M. Office of Works in 1848, at the age of twenty-four. In 1859, he was appointed the first Surveyor for the erection of Post-offices, a post he held until 1884 He was responsible for the pedimented West Range of the extensions to the GPO headquarters in St Martin’s le Grand and King Edward Street, London of 1869-1873, (demolished 1967), and for a significant number of provincial post offices in classical style. These included, among others, Northampton Post Office (1872); Birmingham Post Office (1873); stylistically described as ‘Classical – boldly Classical’), Middlesbrough Post Office (1877), and the former Post Office, Nos. 17-19 Bedford Street, Westminster (1883-4) executed ‘in a remarkably serious Roman High Renaissance’ manner. and the Savings Bank, Queen Victoria-street.

Post Offices in North West England included:  Manchester General Post Office, and offices at Rochdale, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Preston and Oldham.

James Williams died on 8 November 1882 his wife having pre-deceased him. There were no children. (Effects £13,806 12s 4d)