Thomas Henry Lyon was born in Islington, Devon, England 29 May 1869 and studied architecture at the University of Cambridge. He was articled to Watson & Watson in Torquay, Devon and was an improver with William Douglas Caröe. Lyon was a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and was Director of Design at the Cambridge School of Architecture from 1920 to 1936.
A photograph and plan of 'Hellens' in Islington, South Devon, designed by Lyon is illustrated in 'Decorative Art' 1928 (p.70). In 1928 the Bromsgrove Guild made wrought-iron gates for the front of the Master's Lodge at Peterhouse, Cambridge, to a design by him.
Lyon was the author of 'The Attribute Proper to Art: "Pure Art Value"'. (London: Selwyn & Blount, 1921) and 'Real Architecture: The Rights and Wrongs of Taste' (Cambridge, England: W. Heffer & Sons, 1932).
He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London between 1897-1923. in 1896 he was awarded the Architectural Association Bronze Medal for Design and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1926. Lyon's address was given as Middlecott, Islington, South Devon in 1939. He died in Devon on 25 January 1953.
Lyon is principally known for the chapel he designed for Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (1912-23). Other architectural projects included the Church of St. George in Goodwood, Adelaide, Australia (1903); semi-detached houses in Chaucer Road, Cambridge (1903); 'The Coppice' in Cookham Dene (1904); houses in Ilsington, Devon (1899-1912); the Music Room and Italian Garden at Great Ambrook, Devon (1912); buildings for Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (1914); the restoratioon of Old Court at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (1919), a war memorial for King's College Chapel, Cambridge (1921); a lecture room for Peterhouse, Cambridge (1921); a war memorial for Trinity College Chapel (1922); a war memorial for Pembroke College, Cambridge (1923); new buildings for Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (1924); St. Augustine's Church in Wembley Park, London (1924); nurses quarters at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge (1924); the Hostal at Peterhouse, Cambridge (1926); and the south chapel at Little St Mary's Church for Peterhouse, Cambridge (1931).
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. 184, 30 January 1953 p. 202
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 184, 20 February 1953 p. 314
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 60, April 1953 p. 252
Who's Who in Architecture 1926. Edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: Architectural Press, 1926
Yelton, Michael. Thomas Henry Lyon. Architect and aesthete – his life and work. Durham: Sacristy Press, 2023