Roland Wilmot Paul was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England in January 1864. It is not known where he trained as an architect, however, in the mid-1880s he was awarded a Pugin travelling scholarship and undertook a study tour of medieval buildings in Hampshire, Dorset and West Somerset in 1888-89.
He subsequently practised as an architect in London. His particular interest was in the restoration of ancient buildings, particularly churches. He was architect to Bristol cathedral and a member of the Bristol Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches. From 1900 to 1909 he undertook the restoration of Dore Abbey in Abbey Dore, Herefordshire. In doing so he saved many of the medieval fittings, of glass, tiles, stone and wood. He als published reports of his restoration work and his archaeological findings in The Builder.
He had a close association with Somerset and in 1880 became a member of the Somerset Archaeological & Natural History Society (SANHS). In 1900 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Paul is particularly known as the author and publisher of 'Vanishing London: a series of drawings' (London, 1894). He died in Clifton, Bristol on 23 October 1935.
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.149, 8 November 1935 pp. 812, 859