John Jay
of Euston-road (1870), railway and building contractor
1843 John Jay, builder, of Canal Road and 65 London Wall[1]
1851 contractor & builder, Macclesfield Basin, City Road, London[2]
c.1851 Contractor for the King's Cross Railway Station
1855 John Jay, a mason, lived at Regent's Canal Basin, City Road[3]
1860 Contractor for building the part of the Metropolitan Railway from Farringdon-street to Euston-square.
In 1861 J. Jay decided to give up the extensive manufacturing side of his business 'in order to give undivided attention to extensive national and public works'. Advertisements were placed for the sale of the plant, premises, materials etc.[4] The manufacturing premises were located on the canal basin, Macclesfield Street, City Road, London, with a waterside frontage of 229 ft and a depth of 140 ft. There were woodworking shops, machine shops, blacksmiths shop, and iron foundry. Steam engines and boilers were also included in the sale, as follows:-
'By order of J. Jay, Esq. — Five Steam-Engines from 4 horse to 250 horse-power with Boilers, Shafting:, Pullies, &c.
MESSRS. FULLER and HORSEY are instructed to SELL by AUCTION, Monday, May 27, and following Day, at Eleven, at the Works, Macclesfield-street, FIVE STEAM ENGINES, with boilers, including a 25-horse power direct acting high-pressure steam-engine, by Frasi, a 10-horse power high-pressure steam beam-engine, by Fletcher, pair of horizontal high-pressure steam-engines, by Braithwaite, equal to 12-horse power, one 4-horse high-pressure engine, by Gilbert, and a 6-horse power condensing beam-engine, four Cornish steam boilers, Hodge, one egg-end boiler, 500 feet wrought iron shafting, up to five inches diameter, with couplings and Plummer blocks, 100 rigger wheels, &c.—To be viewed with the other effects, and catalogues had (at 6d. each) of H. Wellington Vallance, Esq., solicitor, Tokenhouse-yard, and of Messrs. Fuller and Horsey, Billiter-street, E.C.'
In the above, Fletcher was probably George Fletcher and Co, Braithwaite was probably John Braithwaite.
1870 Contractor for the alterations to Kings Cross station, which were completed under the direction of Mr. Richard Johnson, M. Inst. C.E. then the chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway[5]