# Ray Leigh > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ray_Leigh > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ray_Leigh.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Leigh > Source revision: 1299175991 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Ray Leigh** [MBE](/source/Member_of_the_Most_Excellent_Order_of_the_British_Empire) [RIBA](/source/RIBA) (6 June 1928 – 13 March 2025) was a British architect and designer. He was especially influential in the field of furniture design and was a key figure in the post-war furniture making industry in the UK.[1] ## Early life and education Leigh was born in [Streatham](/source/Streatham), [London](/source/London) where his father worked as a civil servant but spent the war years in [Morecambe](/source/Morecambe) where the family was evacuated. Inspired by the [Art Deco](/source/Art_Deco) [Midland Hotel](/source/Midland_Hotel,_Morecambe) in the town designed by architect [Oliver Hill](/source/Oliver_Hill_(architect)), he continued his education at the [Architectural Association](/source/Architectural_Association_School_of_Architecture). There, he was in a class of students under Sir [Frederick Gibberd](/source/Frederick_Gibberd) who went on to make a significant contribution to post-war design and architecture in the UK; Sir [Philip Dowson](/source/Philip_Dowson), [Richard Burton](/source/ABK_Architects), [Ted Cullinan](/source/Ted_Cullinan), Sir [Colin St John Wilson](/source/Colin_St_John_Wilson) and [Julian Keable](/source/Julian_Keable). [Roderick Gradidge](/source/Roderick_Gradidge) and [Michael Blower](/source/Michael_Blower) were also his contemporaries.[citation needed] ## Career After [National Service](/source/National_Service) in the [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers), he started in the office of Dick Russell, brother of [Gordon Russell](/source/Gordon_Russell_(designer)) to work on the interior fit out of buildings for the 1951 [Festival of Britain](/source/Festival_of_Britain). He worked closely there and made lifelong friendships with figures such as Sir [James Stirling](/source/James_Stirling_(architect)), ['Jacko' Moya](/source/Hidalgo_Moya) and Sir [Philp Powell](/source/Philip_Powell_(architect)), [John Piper](/source/John_Piper_(artist)), [Mary Shand](/source/Mary_Shand), [Terence Conran](/source/Terence_Conran) and [Robin Wade](/source/Robin_Wade). After the Festival, he joined Sir [Gordon Russell](/source/Gordon_Russell_(designer)), the influential furniture designer in his eponymous business Russell, Hodgson & Leigh (1957–1967), eventually making Partner. In 1967 he became Senior Designer of the firm, and later became managing director and eventually chair, where it grew into a business of 200 people at its peak. The firm was sold in 1986 after which he became involved in advocacy for the furniture making industry.[2] ## Significant projects Leigh was responsible for the chairs for [Coventry Cathedral](/source/Coventry_Cathedral) designed by Sir [Basil Spence](/source/Basil_Spence), a classic of post-war design, designed by Dick Russell, Gordon's brother.[3] ## Public life Leigh was President of the [Guild of Gloucester Craftsmen](/source/Guild_of_Gloucester_Craftsmen), [Mayor](/source/Mayor) of [Chipping Camden](/source/Chipping_Camden), Master of the [Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Furniture_Makers)[4] in 1984, a founding trustee of [Crafts Council](/source/Crafts_Council), Chair of [Furniture Industry Research Association](/source/Furniture_Industry_Research_Association), and Chair of the [Edward Barnsley](/source/Edward_Barnsley) Educational Trust. ## Personal life and death Leigh had three children two of whom pre-deceased him. He was married for 72 years to Jean. Leigh died on 13 March 2025, at the age of 96.[5] ## Legacy Leigh's archive is held by the Gordon Russell Design Museum, a project which he advocated in the former premises of the business, in Broadway in the [Cotswolds](/source/Cotswolds).[6] ## References 1. ["The Furniture Makers Company"](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ray_Leigh&action=edit). Retrieved 12 May 2025. 1. ["The Gordon Russell Design Museum"](https://gordonrusselldesignmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Obituary_-Ray-Leigh-MBE-1.pdf). Retrieved 25 April 2025. 1. ["Dezeen"](https://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/28/coventry-cathedral-chair-1960s-dick-russell-goes-back-into-production-luke-hughes/). Retrieved 12 May 2025. 1. ["The Furniture Makers Company"](https://www.furnituremakers.org.uk/news/past-master-ray-leigh-mbe-6-june-1928-13-march-2025/). Retrieved 25 April 2025. 1. ["The Telegraph"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/04/25/ray-leigh-furniture-festival-britain-obituary/). Retrieved 25 April 2025. 1. ["The Gordon Russell Design Museum"](https://gordonrusselldesignmuseum.org/museum-archive/ray-leigh/). Retrieved 25 April 2025. ## Bibliography - *Advance the Product. Gordon Russell Furniture - Continuing Adventure (1946-1986)*, by Ray Leigh. Broadway: Gordon Russell Trust, 2015 (paperback, ISBN 978-0-9575313-2-1) - *A Change of Direction. Gordon Russell Furniture (1930–1940)*, by Ray Leigh. Broadway: Gordon Russell Trust, 2017 (paperback, ISBN 978-0-9575313-4-5) - *Drawn to Design. The Work of Sir Gordon Russell*, by Ray Leigh & Trevor Chinn. Broadway: Gordon Russell Trust, 2013 (paperback, ISBN 978-0-9575313-0-7) ## External links - [The Gordon Russell Museum, Broadway, Worcestershire](http://www.gordonrussellmuseum.org/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ray Leigh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Leigh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Leigh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.