About Philip J Clay
I have been in the Architectural / surveying profession now
since I left school at 19, some 38 years.
My family moved to the south coast form Birmingham when I was 6
years old, and then to Steyning three years later. I attended
Steyning County Primary School and then on to the County
Secondary School. I was here that I discovered that I had some
aptitude for technical drawing, and went on to take an A level
in the subject, in what was now Steyning Grammar School, ( by
now a “comprehensive”), I also obtained 2 further A levels in
geography ands Economics. On leaving School I had no “Uni” place
or job lined up, but I answered an ad in “The Argus” for a
“Drawing office assistant” , in what turned out, as it happened,
in a Building Surveyors Office/ department of a south coast firm
of estate Agents, and this set me on my way. After a year,
during which I attended Brighton tech, to study construction and
surveying, I left that firm to go into full time Further
education. I attended what was then “Thames Polytechnic”
(Formerly Hammersmith College of Art and Building) to study full
time for a degree in Building Surveying, with the ultimate aim
of becoming a Chartered Building Surveyor,
I attended the course for 2 years before leaving to join the
Building Surveyors Department of the Lewes Office of a national
firm of Land and Estate Agents. Most of the projects I was
involved with were either Listed, Estate and Country properties.
I Stayed at this firm for 5 years full time, and was then
retained for a further 15 years on an “ad-hoc”, on and off
basis; as and when they needed assistance. On leaving this firm
I went to an Uckfield firm who specialised in Steel Framed
Buildings, who took me on a Self - Employed basis. I produced
all the drawings for the buildings and dealt with all jobs
requiring Planning Permission and Building Regulation approvals,
as well as attending to clients enquiries by making site visits,
and visiting the works in progress
Fortunately I had left this firm before (In 1985) its demise in
the 1990’s recession and set myself up to work locally from my
house in Upper Beeding, although I did carry on working for them
on a part time basis, and again on the firms re-emergence in the
mid 1990’s, in a different guise.
I have now lived in the Steyning, Bramber, and Upper Beeding
area since 1963
Outside working time, I have been keenly interested in
ornithology sine my mid teens and trained for and obtained a BTO
(British Trust For ornithology) Bird ringing permit when I was
17. To indulge my hobby I was able to purchase 2.5 acres of land
along the old Steyning railway line in 1980. My bird ringing
there and the management of the land for the benefit of birds
and other wildlife have kept me well occupied ever since.
I am also involved with a site at Cissbury, owned by the
National Trust, with a group of 4 other local Bird ringers.
(more pages may follow about these activities, as and when I
have time!)
I have also enjoyed photography, but this is now mostly indulged
with on my Holidays, which with working from home have become
essential. These trips are usually “ornithological” in nature,
with trips normally of a “Package” bird watching trips, with the
firm “Naturetrek”, I have also been lucky enough to have had a
couple of private holidays to visit a friend and bird ringing
colleague and his wife in Tanzania while they were filming the
wildlife and flamingos at Lake Natron