James Parish was born on Leeds, Yorkshire, England on 18 September 1875 and was articled to Thomas Howdill (1840-1918) and Charles Barker Howdill (1864-1941) of Howdill & Howdill. He also attended Leeds School of Art and Leeds Technical School from 1896 to 1892. He subsequently worked as an assistant to Francis William Bedford (1866-1904) and Sydney Decimus Kitson (1871-1937) of Bedford & Kitson in Leeds from 1901 to 1903, and as chief assistant to Kitson from 1894 to 1914. In 1914 Parish joined Kitson in partnership. They were later joined by William Armitage Ledgard (1889-1963) in 1919 and by Noel Pyman (1904-1970) in 1929 when the practice became Kitson, Parish, Ledgard & Pyman.
Parish was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911, and was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1925. He died Leeds on 25 June 1933.
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