Joseph Henry Ball was born in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England on 20 January 1861 and was articled to Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905) for five years. He also attended the Royal Academy Schools in London and at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College, London. He qualified as an architect in 1883 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1884.
He subsequently worked as an architect and sometimes worked with Heywood Sumner (1853–1940) on projects. He collaborated with the writer Arthur Conan Doyle in the design of the Doyle family home Undershaw in Hindhead, Surrey, built in 1895-97. Ball also designed St Agatha's Church in Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1895.
A photograph of the apse of the Lady Chapel of St. Agatha's, Portsmouth designed by Ball and Sumner was shown in the 5th exhibition of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society in London in 1896
His address was given as Rolls Park, Chigwell, Essex in 1883; 2 Portland Place. Southsea, Hampshire in 1884; 15 Clement's Inn, Strand, London in 1894; and Lonsdale Chambers, 27 Chancery Lane, London in 1914. He died on 1 December 1931.
St Agatha's Church in Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire (1895); Undershaw in Hindhead, Surrey (1895-97)
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