Allen was born in Thorne, Yorkshire, England on 25 September 1877 and was articled to J. G. Walker in Doncaster from 1894 to 1897. He then worked as an assistant to the Doncaster Rural District Council Surveyor in 1897-98. and to George Archibald Wilson (1851-?) in Sheffield from 1898 to 1903. Allen commenced independent practice as an architect in Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1903. By 1914 he had relocated his practice to Doncaster. Allen was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911.
His address was given as 73 Salter Gate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1911; 1 St. George Gate, Doncaster, South Yorkshire and 8 Thorne Road, Doncaster in 1914; Dunscroft Abbey, Doncaster in 1926; and Cedar House, Doncaster, Yorkshire in 1939. He died in Townville, Yorkshire in 1950.
Schools, hotels, private residences, business premises [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001