Eleanor Katherine Dorothy Hughes was born in Madras, India on 4 June 1885. By 1901 she had moved to England and her address was given as Longholme, Church Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire [now Dorset]. She subsequently studied architecture at the Architectural Association Schools in London from c.1918 and was one of the first women to do so. She was awarded her AA Diploma in c.1922. With Winifred Ryle (1897–1987), she had the distinction of co-designing the first building designed by a woman from the AA – the village hall at Danehill, in the East Sussex, built in 1922-23.
By 1926 she had established a practice at 28, Moreton Street, St. George's Square, London. By 1930 she had moved her practice to 4 Francis Street, London. From 1933 to 1939 her office was located at 5 Gower Street, London. From 1939 to 1951 her address was given as Beaufort, 3 Hengist Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire.
Hughes was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1922 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1939. She died on 8 August 1951.
AA Women in Architecture 1917-2017. Edited by Elizabeth Darling and Lynne Walker. London: Architectural Association and the authors, 2017
Franz, Nellie Alden. English Women Enter the Professions. Cincinnati: Privately published, 1965