William Thorpe Jones was born in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England on 9 October 1864 and was articled to Charles Hodgson Fowler (1840-1910 in Durham from 1882 to 1886. He was then an improver with Jonas James Bradshaw (1837-1912) and John Bradshaw Gass (1855-1939) of Bradshaw & Gass in 1886-87. He worked as an assistant to Richard Knill Freeman (1838?-1904) from 1887 to 1897 and from 1898 to 1901.
Jones commenced independent practice as an architect in Durham 1901 and was appointed Architect to the University of Durham. During the 1920s and 1930s he was a driving force behind the restoration of Durham Castle. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1906. He wrote a number of papers and articles on the history of Durham and its architecture. He died in 7 October 1932. He was buried in Durham.
"Mt. Oswald", Durham; The Durham County Convalescent Home; the Divinity House, Durham; Durham Castle restorations, 1902, and 1925; Messrs. Barclays Bank, Durham; the Hallgarth, Contham Mundevllle.
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