Henry Smith was born in Brixton, Surrey, England on 1 January 1871 and was articled to George Smith in Streatham, Surrey and Chancery Lane, London. He commenced independent practice in London in 1893, and continued to practice in London until at least the late 1920s. He was Surveyor to Scott Estate London Property; The Wentworth Dwellings Co.. Ltd.; and the Kirklington Hall Estates Co., Ltd. (London Property). He was a Member of the Society of Architects (MSA) and was admitted a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1925.
His address was given as 212 Hamlet Gardens, Hammersmith, London in 1901; 5 & 6, Clement's Inn, Strand, London in 1914; 37 High Holborn, London in 1923 and 1934; and "Norwich House", Southampton Street, High Holborn, London in 1935 and 1939.
Many estate developments at Chiswick, Kew, Acton, Ealing, Thames Ditton, Esher, Wimbledon, Islington, Hackney, and other districts. Rebuilt Nos. 191-2, High Holborn, WC.; altered and enlarged " Esher House", Esher; "Mona Cottage", Esher: "The Firs", Claygate; "Copley Dene, Ealing; "Karangan," Ealing; " Fennymere", Ealing; Tulley's Drapery Stores, Fulham, and others. Built many blocks of workmen's dwellings at Fulham, Islington, Hackney, Deptford, Bermondsey, and Southwark: factories, garages and warehouses at Whitechapel, Islington, Kingston, Southwark and Hackney: Working Men's Club at Hackney; Boxing Ring and Cinema at Whitechapel: Cinema at Islington; several public houses at Edgware Road, Islington, Hackney, Fulham, and altered many business houses in the City; and as Quantity Surveyor has executed the quantities for a great many churches of various denominations and schools and other public buildings
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