A classics tutor at Lady Margaret Hall, Clay wrote Roman law articles for the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition and published Sources for Roman History B.C.
After attending Francis Holland School, Clay studied Classics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (LMH), graduating with a first class degree.
In 1920, Clay was appointed a governor of the Frances Mary Buss Schools for Girls.
[1] From 1928 to 1945, Clay was the Honorary Secretary and Treasure of the Oxford Mission to Calcutta.
[2]: 166 Clay contributed to thirteen articles in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, published in 1911.