Monica Barham

Monica Frances Barham (née Ford; 1920 – 19 September 1983) was a New Zealand architect.

Biography Barham was born and raised in Invercargill. She was the second-eldest of five daughters of Allan Ford, an architect, and Hildegarde Ford. She was educated at Southland Girls' High School in Invercargill and as a boarder at Columba College in Dunedin.

In 1937, aged 17, Barham began working in her father's practice while studying architecture by distance through Auckland University College. In 1942, she moved to Auckland to complete her studies; she continued to work for her father in university holidays. She completed her Diploma of Architecture in 1944 and registered as an architect the following year, becoming the first female registered architect in the Southland and Otago branches of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. She also sat and passed the examinations to qualify as an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

In 1946, Barham and her husband Cecil started an architectural practice in Dee Street, Invercargill, named Barham and Barham Architects. Barham was possibly the first New Zealand woman architect to practise as an owner and partner of an architectural business. In 1947, she was the only woman listed as "registered in practice" by the New Zealand Institute of Architects. and the firm was responsible for the library building at Mataura, the Gore Women's Club, the Winton RSA Clubrooms, a central Invercargill medical centre and the Southland Centennial Agricultural Hall, among other projects. Her life and work was the subject of an exhibition at Invercargill's museum and art gallery Te Waka Tuia in 2024.

Personal life Barham met her husband Cecil in 1945 and they married the following year.