Douglas Woodville Rowntree was born in Brompton, Yorkshire, England on 6 May 1888 and was the son of the architect Frederick (Fred) Rowntree (1860-1927). He studied at the Architectural Association Schools in London from 1905 to 1907 and passed the preliminary exam in 1906. From 1907 he worked at his father's practice in Hammersmith London as an improver and subsequently as his assistant. In 1908 he passed the intermediate exam. To gain additional experience he worked for six months with Mussellwhite & Sapp, a firm of builders in Basingstoke, Hampshire in 1910. He then returned to his father's office.
In 1912 he went into partnership with his father as Fred Rowntree & Son. After war service, he returned to the family firm. In 1919 his younger brother, Colin Rowntree (1891-1965) joined the practice which was renamed Fred Rowntree & Sons.
Douglas Woodville Rowntree was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1919 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1937.
His address was given as 11 Hammersmith Terrace, London in 1920 and 1930; 94 Baker Street, London in 1930 and 1935; Museum Chambers, Museum Street, York in 1930 and 1939; and 9 Wyndham Place, London in 1939. He died in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire on 26 October 1966
Robson, Peter. Fred Rowntree, Architect: Some Notes on His Life. Easingwold, York: Newby Books 2014 [ISBN 9781872686370]