Josiah Auty was born in Morley, Yorkshire, England on 30 November 1881 and was articled to a local architect from 1897 to 1900. He then worked as assistant to Thomas Howdill (1840-1918) and Charles Barker Howdill (1864-1941 of Howdill & Howdill, to Frederick Musto, and to William Carby Hall (1864-1938) from 1901 to 1906. He also studied at Leeds School of Art, and attended the Royal College of Art in London in 1904-05. He qualified as an architect in 1909 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1910.
Auty commenced independent practice as an architect in Morley, Yorkshire in 1906. By 1923 he had relocated his practice to Emsworth in Hampshire. His address was given as 16, Feel Street, Morley, Yorkshire in 1914; 44 South Street, Chichester, West Sussex in 1930 and 1936; and Flint House, South Street, Chichester, Sussex and "Edgerton", Havant Road, Warblington, Elmsworth, Hampshire in 1939. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1933.
Auty died on 23 July 1949. At the time of his death he was living at White Cot, Albion Road, Sutton, Surrey. His son, Donald Simpson Auty (1912-1995) was also an architect.
Schools as above: "The Woodlands", Gildersome; "Oakdene", Morley; "The Gables", Morley; "Shenstone", Churwell; Quarry Mills, Morley, &c. [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