[4] Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant.
[6] As his office was in Chester, most of his work was carried out in Cheshire and North Wales, although some was further afield in regions including Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Shropshire.
[7] From an early stage in his career, Douglas attracted commissions from wealthy and powerful patrons, the first of which came from Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere.
Douglas designed a large number and variety of buildings in the family's Eaton Hall estate and the surrounding villages.
[8] It contains a great variety of buildings, including schools, shops, offices, hotels, public houses, banks, model farms, cheese factories and a gentlemen's club.