James Henry Ecclestone was born in Plymouth, Devon, England on 22 February 1906. He qualified as an architect in the late 1920s and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1929, however, it is not known where or with whom he received his training.
A design for a house by him was entered in The "Daily Mail" Ideal Houses Competition for Architects, 1927.
By 1930 he had moved to Nigeria and was working as assistant architect in Lagos. By 1933 he had returned to England and was practising in Plymouth, Devon. By 1935 he had moved to London.
His address was given as ; 34 Burleigh Park Road, Plymouth, Devon in 1911; 102, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, London in 1927; Westwood, Higher Street, Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon in 1933.; 57 Magdelene Road, Wandsworth, London in 1935; and 2 Alcon Court, Earlesfield Road, London 1939. He died in 1976. His death was registered in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey