He was privately educated before attending Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a Diploma in the Faculty of Engineering.
Lones published a number of works on the history of industry and technology, particularly on mining and metallurgy.
These included a number of articles on these topics, such as the history of mining in the Black Country[3] and the development of the Newcomen steam engine.
Lones is most notable for his editing for publication, a collection of material made over many years by fellow folklorist (and Patent Office employee) A. R. Wright, on the calendar customs of Britain.
[9] They have been described as "about the only one" of the large-scale collecting projects envisioned at the Folklore Society's creation in the late nineteenth century, to have "actually got completed".