Henry Macaulay

• Birth date            3 June 1830 at Huddersfield
• Marriage              29 December 1859 to Mary Lightfoot at Christ Church Accrington
• Death date           6 April 1917 at Kingston

The son of Stephen Macaulay and his wife Martha, Henry Macaulay was born on 3 June 1830 at Huddersfield. Few details of his education and training have yet to be found.  The Dictionary of British Architects states that he was a pupil of Christopher Fowler, but no architect of this name has been discovered. By 1859 he was in practice as an architect in St Helens, moving to his wife’s home town of Accrington in 1862. Here he remained until 1868 when, for reasons yet to be established, he and his family then moved to Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey. Known commissions before 1876 are few. In Accrington he designed the church of St John the Evangelist (1864-1868) while in Kingston he won a competition for working class housing, (1874); and received third prize for the design of a concrete house (1876). Henry Macaulay was appointed Borough Surveyor of Kingston-upon-Thames in 1876 and retained the post for thirty years. Municipal works included the sewage disposal scheme for Kingston; Knights Park Bridge over the Hogsmill River (1892); Canbury Gardens, Layout plans were prepared by Henry Macaulay and the Mayor opened the Gardens on 8 November 1890. 2Kw Electric Power station 1893 closed 1959 and demolished.

He was one of the pioneers of the Volunteer movement, with which he had been closely associated from its inception. He joined the 47th Rifle Corps at St. Helens in 1859, and on removing to Accrington in 1862 transferred to the 7th Lancashire Volunteers. Subsequently he was given a commission as lieutenant in the 5th Royal Lancashire Militia, afterwards the 3rd Royal Lancashire Regiment, and rose to the rank of major, retiring in 1887. He was one of the first to join the National Reserve, and although over eighty years of age he attended the drills and parades regularly. 

Major Henry Macaulay, described as "courteous and urbane to a degree", died at his Kingston Hill residence on 6 April 1917. He was 87

Address
1878-1883       Clattern Place, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
1889-1891       Henry Macauley Borough Surveyor Eden Street, Kingston
1900               Borough Surveyor's Office, Kingston-upon-Thames

Residence
1841                Macaulay Street, Huddersfield
1859                St Helens
1862-1868       Accrington
1868               93 Blackburn Road, Accrington,
1869-1870       Henry Macaulay, Architect and Land Surveyor, 3 Orchard Villas, Orchard Road, Kingston (Surrey Comet)
1871                Kingston Surrey
1874                Henry Macaulay, Elm Bank, Kingston-on-Thames [Builder]
1878-1881       Captain Henry Macaulay, Kingston Hill, Kingston (Surrey Post Office Directory)
1891                London Road, Kingston, Surrey (Census),
1891                Major Henry Macaulay, Briarbank, Kingston Hill
1903                Major Henry Macaulay, Briarbank, Kingston Hill (Surrey Comet 20 June 1903. Marriage of Evelyn)
1901-1911       Kingston Hill, Kingston Surrey
1913             Major Henry Macaulay 12 Kingston Hill Norbiton (Kelly)
1917             Major Henry Macaulay, Briarbank, Kingston Hill

Obituary        Building News 18 April 1917 page 350