Henry Ingham Ashworth was born in Cheshire, England on 20 February 1907 and studied architecture at the University of Manchester where he was awarded an M.A. in 1936.
In c.1930, with Frank Scarlett (1900-1981) he formed the partnership Scarlett & Ashworth [also known as Frank Scarlett & Ingham Ashworth] in London.
Projects by the practice included offices for Shell Mex Ltd. in Kingston upon Hull (1931); alterations to Long Meadow, Chiswick Mall, London (1932); Starlock on Military Road in Rye, Sussex, for Col. & Mrs. Templar (1932); an office building in New Street, Kingston upon Hull (1933); and a house at 1 Cornwallis Avenue in Tonbridge, Kent, for C. V. Brooks (1936).
A photograph of Starlock in Rye, designed by Frank Scarlett of Scarlett & Ashworth is illustrated in 'Decorative Art' 1933 (p.19).
The partnership between Scarlett and Ashworth was dissolved in c.1936. During the 1930s Ashworth taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College, London and Regent Street Polytechnic. He was also the author of Architectural Practice and Administration (1933) and Flats: Design and Equipment (1936).
Between 1939 and 1941 Ashorth was responsible for administering the planning and building of air raid shelters for the Harrow Urban District Council. From 1941 and 1945 he served in the Royal Engineers in the Far East.
Following the war he resumed his architectural career and in 1948 was offered the new chair of architectural design and history at the University of Sydney, and in 1950 he was appointed dean of the faculty.
In 1949 his registration as an architect was accepted and, thereafter, he became an active member of the architectural community in Australia. He became a member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and was President of the New South Wales chapter of the RAIA in 1956-58. He was also elected a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Building.
In the early 1960s Ashworth joined the University of New South Wales and in 1964 was appointed dean of the faculty and head of the school of architecture and building. He retired as emeritus professor in 1972.
Ashworth was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1929 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1938.
His address in England was given as 43 Bedford Row, London in 1930; and 2 Woodberry Avenue, North Harrow, Middlesex in 1939. He died in at Wahroonga, Sydney on 26 November 1991.
Johnson, Paul-Alan. ‘Ashworth, H. Ingham.’ in The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, edited by Philip Goad and Julie Willis. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2012 pp.47-48