James Crossland was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England on 10 September 1876 and was the son of the painter James Henry Crossland (1852-1939). He was articled to Thomas Hayton Mawson (1861-1933) of Mawson & Gibson. After completing his articles he remained with Mawson until 1903. He then worked as an assistant to Garden Crafts Ltd. in Staveley, Westmorland, to John Woodhouse & Co. Ltd. in Coventry, Warwickshire from 1903 to 1906. In 1907 he designed furniture for J. P. White's Pyghtle Works in Bedford, Bedfordshire. He also worked as an assistant to Thomas Adams (1871-1940) in 1908-09, and again to Mawson in 1910.
Crossland commenced independent practice as an architect in 1911 and that year was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA). By 1914 his practice was located in Lancaster where he practised as an architect until the mid-1930s. His death was registered in Sheffield in 1961
Works: Design for the completion of Bournville Village for the Bournville Village Trust; residence at Walkern, Herts: Garden Suburb, Swansea. [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