At the beginning of his career, Ernest Coxhead focused on designing churches, primarily in the Gothic Revival style.
After five years experience in both public projects and residential developments, in 1883 Coxhead left Eastbourne for London.
In 1893 his Episcopal Church client, Bishop William Kip, died and Coxhead started to concentrate on residential work.
His residences include townhouses in San Francisco and large homes in Palo Alto, Alameda, and Berkeley.
[5] From 1918 to 1919, Coxhead went to LeMans, France, to organize and direct the American Expeditionary Force's University School of Architecture, established by John Galen Howard, for members of the United States armed forces stationed in France.