James Ragg Wigfull was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England in 1864. He was articled to Thomas James Flockton (1825-1899) and Edward Mitchell Gibbs (1847-1935) of Flockton & Gibbs in Sheffield from 1881 to 1884 and remained with them as their assistant until 1891. He also attended Sheffield School of Art. In 1894 he won the RIBA Silver Medal for Drawing.
Wigfull qualified as an architect in 1891 and commenced independent practice as an architect in Sheffield the following year. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1892 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1923. He was also a member of the Sheffield Society of Architects and Surveyors and its President.
His address was given as 28 Clarke Street, Sheffield in 1871; 105 Union Road, Sheffield in 1881; 41 Crescent Road, Sheffield and 14 Parade Chambers, Sheffield in 1891 and 1931; 22 Barker's Road, Sheffield in 1901 and 1935 He died in Sheffield on 16 February 1936.
Hotel Portland, Chesterfield, 1902; Unity Church, Sheffield, 1915; numerous hotels and private houses in Sheffield, Worksop, and Chesterfield; elementary school, Sheffield, 1907: extension of School of Art, Sheffield, 1908; mission buildings, Sheffield, 1906; and Mexborough, 1913; flour mill, Sheffield, 1911; grain silos, Sheffield, 1922; steel warehouse; extensions of various works
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