Victor Thomas Jones was born in London, England on 7 March 1864 and spent his early years in Wales. He was articled to Andrew T. Taylor in Finsbury, London and briefly worked as his assistant to George Baines (1852-1943). He also studied construction and design at the Architectural Association in London, where he won the Bronze Medal; and attended the Science and Art Department in South Kensington, London.
He subsequently commenced private practice in London and designed interiors for Liberty & Co. of Regent Street, London. In c.1893 he designed a summer cottage on the Isle of Wight.
For reasons of his health, Jones moved to South Africa in 1896 and settled in Johansburg where he worked for George Wilson (?-1899) until c.1899. During the Anglo-Boer War Jones went back to England but returned to South Africa in 1901 and that year formed a partnership with William John McWilliams (1973-1950) as Jones & McWilliams in Johannesburg. In 1903 they relocated the practice to Port Elizabeth. The influence of the Art and Crafts movement is evident in much of their early work, notably the Harbour Board Offices in Port Elizabeth (1905). Jones also designed the interiors of several churches. A Roll of Honour war memorial designed by him for Port Elizabeth Golf Club in c.1919 is illustrated in 'The Studio' November 1919 (p.64).
Jones was a founder of the Eastern Province Society of Architects and was a founder member and Life President of the Eastern Province Society of Arts and Crafts. He was elected a Member of the Society of Architects (MSA) in 1896 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1925. He died in Port Elizabeth on 29 May 1946.
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
‘Obituary’. South African Architectural Record July 1946 p. 185
Picton-Seymour, Désirée. Victorian Buildings in South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: AA Balkema, 1977