John Henry Jacques was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England on 25 July 1868. His father, Plateras Lawson Jacques (1828-1870) and his brother, William Jacques (1854-1919), were both architects. In 1884 he was articled to John Thomas Newman (1831-1896) in London, with whom his brother had been articled. He also attended King's College, London, and the Architectural Association Schools in London. Having completed his articles he worked as an assistant to Roger Thomas Conder (?-1906) and Eustace Lauriston Conder (1863-1935) of Conder & Conder in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1890 to 1892; to P. Walsh in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1892; and to his brother's practice, Newman & Jacques, in London from 1892 to 1896.
Newman & Jacques had been founded by John Thomas Newman and William Jacques and following the death of Newman in 1896, J. H. Jacques became a partner in the practice which retained its original name until 1939.
J. H. Jacques was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1910 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1928. His address was given as 2 Fen Court. 106 Fenchurch Street, London in 1910 and 1923; 61, West Ham Lane, Stratford, London in 1926 and 1930; and 23 Alderton Hill, Chigwell, Essex in 1939. He died on 25 November 1939
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 197, 22 December 1939 p. 858