James Ernest Marshall [also known as J. Ernest Marshall] was born in Lancashire, England on 28 November 1881 and studied at the School of Architecture, Liverpool University. He subsequently practised as an architect in Liverpool. He was also Senior Lecturer In Architectural Construction, Contracts and Professional Practice, at the School of Architecture, the University of Liverpool.
During the 1930s he was in partnership with Lionel Bailey Budden (1887-1956), and with Budden, and in association C. H. Reilly, designed a major extension to Liverpool University's Students’ Union in the early 1930s.
Marshall was a Member of the Society of Architects (MSA). He was admitted an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1925 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1934. He died in April 1969. His death was registered in St. Albans, Hertfordshire