John Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone

Henry John Alexander Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone, (1 May 1899 – 18 January 1963) was an architect whose work in the partnership of Seely & Paget included the interior of Eltham Palace in the Art Deco style, and the post-World War II restoration of a number of bomb-damaged buildings, such as houses in the Little Cloister (Westminster Abbey), the London Charterhouse and the church of St John Clerkenwell.

Biography Henry John Alexander Seely was born on 1 May 1899, the son of John Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, a British Army general and politician, and Emily Florence, daughter of Colonel Honourable Sir Henry George Louis Crichton.

He served during World War I. His elder brother, 2Lt Frank Reginald Seely of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Arras.

The partnership's works included the remodelling of Mottistone Manor, and the transformation of the medieval Eltham Palace, into an Art Deco mansion.

In 1947 John Seely was Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral and designed the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire, at the eastern end of the crypt. He was also appointed architect to St George's chapel, Windsor Castle and Lay Canon and architect at Portsmouth Cathedral. The National Portrait Gallery, London holds six portraits of him in its collection, by photographers Walter Stoneman and Elliott & Fry.

He died without issue on 18 January 1963 and was accordingly succeeded by his brother, Arthur Patrick William Seely, 3rd Baron Mottistone. He is buried in St Catherine's chapel garden at Westminster Abbey.