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Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon MOORE, Thomas (Tom) Born: 1870 09 02 Died: 1947 Architect Year registered: 1930 LRIBA 1931 Strictly speaking Moore worked as a quantity surveyor, he has been included here because he was a Licentiate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, was registered with the Institute of South African Architects and because his name appears linked with those of architects. Moore was born in London of a naval family from County Down in Ireland. His father died while he was still a boy at school. He was employed by friends of his father, Sydney Fowler & Hugman, Architect & Quantity Surveyors, in London and was with them from 1883 for eight years during which time he was directly concerned with the building of Battersea, Albert, Hammersmith and Lambeth Bridges in London. In 1891 he was appointed assistant to Arthur Anderson, the leading Quantity Surveyor of Melbourne, Australia but that owing to a depression in that country he returned to London after two years, re-entering the office of his previous employers where at some stage he was engaged on sewage disposal plans for Cape Town, Green Point and Sea Point. Three years after rejoining Fowler & Hugman he commenced private practice in London in 1896. In 1902 Aston Webb, whom Moore had assisted in preparing quantities for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London offered him the post of chief quantity surveyor in the Transvaal Colony. His first undertaking in his new post was the introduction of a system for the preparation of Bills of Quantities which was adopted in its essentials practically throughout the continent of Africa. He prepared a standard system of measuring builder's work at the request of the Transvaal Federation of Master Builders in 1905, published in 1913 as the 'Standard system of measuring builders' work in South Africa'. Britain was later to adopt a similar system. In 1906 the depression forced Moore to enter private practice in Pretoria and there he remained until his death, building up a reputation as one of the foremost quantity surveyors in South Africa. He was a founder member of the London Quantity Surveyors Association which was incorporated into the Chartered Surveyors Institute in 1921, and promoted interest in the education of Quantity Surveyors. When in 1931 Moore applied for Licentiate membership of the RIBA, Robert HOWDEN wrote endorsing Moore's work for both professions 'he has been a member of the Architectural Association in England since 1889 (and) has been chiefly engaged in quantity surveyor's work. He wishes to remain allied to the Architectural Profession'. He was registered as an architect in each of the four Provinces of the Union and enrolled as a member of the Chapter in 1928. From 1930 to 1931 he was President-in-Chief of the Institute of South African Architects. He was in association with the quantity surveyor DS Mann from about 1932 with whom he carried out the work of GL O'CONNOR of Dublin for the Christian Brothers College, Kimberley (1932). He was Vice-President-in-Chief of the Institute of South African Architects from 1930 to 1931 and President-in-Chief from 1931 to 1932. FSI; Fellow of the Incorporated Association of Arbitrators; Member of the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, United Kingdom; Member of the Institute of Structural Engineers and of the Committee of the South African branch. (AB&E Dec 1935:8; Building Mar 1922:36; LRIBA nom papers (1931) 3737; SAAR Jun 1931:69; SAAR May 1935:130; SAAR Apr 1933:93; SAAR Apr 1942:72; SAAR Jun 1947:186 obit; SAB Jun 1932:19, 21 ill) All truncated references not fully cited in 'References' are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.