Frederick Montague Gratton was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England on 17 August 1858 and trained as an engineer at his father's works in Derby from 1872 to 1875. He was then articled to Charles Sebastian Nelson (1844-1924) and Alline James Nelson of C. S. & A. J. Nelson in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1875 and to Herbert Ford (1832?-1903) and Robert Lempriere Hesketh (1850-1937) of Ford & Hesketh in London from 1877 to 1880. He also studied at South Kensington School of Art in London.
Gratton was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1881 and the following year moved to Shanghai, China to work as an architect for G. J. Morrison, a civil engineer. In 1885 he commenced practice in Shanghai in partnership with Morrison as Morrison & Gratton.
By 1908 Gratton had returned to England and his address was given as Aspenden Lodge, near Buntingford, Hertfordshire. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1893. He died in 17 December 1917 and his death was registered in Royston, Hertfordshire. He is buried at Saint Mary Churchyard in Aspenden, Hertfordshire.
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
Denison, Edward and Ren, Guang Yu. Building Shanghai. The Story of China’s Gateway. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2006