[1][2] The son of a wealthy Scottish landowner, Scott was born at Beards Hill, St Peter's near Broadstairs, Kent, the second of ten children.

[1] He studied briefly in Bath, but his architectural development was especially marked by the 12 years he spent living in the Isle of Man.

At the beginning of his career, Scott worked with Fred Saunders, with whom he had studied at the Isle of Man School of Art, which is also in Douglas.

In 1894, in an article in The Studio, he proposed a design having a high central hall with a galleried inglenook between the drawing and dining rooms and separated from them by folding screens.

[1] Scott developed his own Arts and Crafts style however, which progressed towards a simple form of architecture, relying on truth to material and function, and on precise craftsmanship.