Horace Ireton Hands was born in Balsall Heath, Worcestershire, England in c.1878 * and was articled to Edward Arnold Radclyffe in Birmingham from 1898 to 1901. He also studied at Birmingham School of Art. He then worked as an assistant to Kerridge & Shaw, a firm of contractors, for eighteen months; to Oliver Essex (1855-1939), John Coulson Nicol (1848-1933), and John Goodman (1865-1952) of Nicol & Goodman; and to J. C. Nicol and George Salway Nicol (1878-?)) of Nicol & Nicol.
Hands commenced independent practice as an architect in Birmingham and was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1910. He died in Birmingham on 22 March 1929
* Hands's date of birth is variously given as 1876, 1878, 1879 and 1 June 1880. It would seem that 1878 is probably the correct date.
Ideal Village, Birmingham, 1912-18; Ideal Estate, Edgbaston, 1918; several large works and large houses, warehouses, etc.; work as architect to a very large friendly and building society possessing large estates in various parts of the country.
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