First Commissioner of Works

In a nutshell

The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It took over some of the functions of the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1851 when the portfolio of Crown holdings was divided into the public and the commercial. The position was frequently of cabinet level. The office was renamed Minister of Works and Buildings and First Commissioner of Works in 1940, Minister of Works and Planning upon receiving statutory planning powers from the Ministry of Health in 1942, Minister of Works when those planning powers were moved to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning in 1943, and finally Minister of Public Buildings and Works in 1962. In this last form the commissioner had "additional responsibility for studying the problems of the building industry". On 15 October 1970 the role was amalgamated with the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Housing and Local Government in the Department of the Environment.

Explore on Lably

ToursExplore Lably’s 3D tours

List of Works Commissioners and Ministers

First Commissioners of Works (1851–1940)

Ministers of Works & Buildings and First Commissioner of Works (1940–1942)

Ministers of Works and Planning (1942–1943)

Ministers of Works (1943–1962)

Ministers of Public Buildings and Works (1962–1970)

More in Politicians and leaders

Donald TrumpPresident of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)Barack ObamaPresident of the United States from 2009 to 2017 JesuitsMale religious congregation of the Catholic Church Franklin D. RooseveltPresident of the United States from 1933 to 1945 George W. BushPresident of the United States from 2001 to 2009 Winston ChurchillBritish statesman and writer (1874–1965)