William Thomas Oldrieve was born in London, England on 18 December 1853. He worked in the Clerk of Works Office at Theresby Hall in Budley, Nottinghamshire, under Anthony Salvln (1799-1881) from 1868 to 1871; in the office of Cubltt & Co., Builders in London from 1871 to 1873; and as a draughtsman at the War Office from 1873 to 1881. From 1881 to 1914 he worked in various capacities at H. M. Office of Works in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, including as Principal Architect from 1890 to 1904, and as Chief Architect from 1904 to 1914. During the 1880s he studied architecture at Edinburgh University where he won the Class Medal and the Cousin Prize in 1885
In 1914, with Andrew W. Bell and William (c.1889-c.1955) he formed the architectural partnership Oldrieve Bell & Paterson in Edinburgh. Oldrieve was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1906. He died in Edinburgh on 12 January 1922.
Many new Post Office buildings and extensions throughout England, including Aldershot. Chatham, Plymouth, Oxford, Leicester, Hull, York, Portsmouth, Holyhead, Darlington, &c Many Post Offices in Scotland, including: — 1903-5, Glasgow new Parcel Post Office, £75,000; 1907-8, Kilmarnock new P.O., £11,000; Lerwick new P.O., £9,000;1908-9 Oban new P.O., £8,000; Edinburgh P.O. extension, £86,000; 1911-14, Glasgow P.O. extension, £70,000; Telephone Exchanges, Glasgow and Edinburgh, £27,000. Art and Science buildings: 1906-8, Estudalemulr Magnetic Observatory, £24,000; 1909-10, Edinburgh Royal Scottish Academy Galleries, £18,000; 1910-11, Edinburgh National Galleries reconstruction. £9,000; 1912-14, Edinburgh Royal Scottish Museum extension, £50,000; 1900-8, Edinburgh Courts of Law extension, £24,000; 1911-14, Labour Exchanges, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Ac, £33,000. Historic buildings, works of restoration and preservation, Including: 1903-13: Glasgow Cathedral (restoration of roof, Ac, £15,000), Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Holyrood Palace and Chapel Royal, Elgin Cathedral, St. Andrews Cathedral and Castle, Arbroath Abbey, Newark Castle, Dumbarton Castle.
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