Bookofimages00hortrich 0057 - Drawing. Public domain image.

Born in Belgium to an English family who travelled extensively in Europe. He returned to England with his parents as a child. The family settled in Brighton, where young William completed his schooling. He continued his education and studied architecture as an apprentice to one of the Bristol architects. In 1887 he entered the Royal Academy of Architecture in London. In 1890 he created a design for a theatre building, which won a prize. At the same time, the young man had no inclination to pursue architecture and wanted to devote his time to literary work. Wanting competent advice, he turned to the famous English writer Thomas Hardy. Hardy advised Horton to continue his architectural studies and to use his literary skills to write a book on French architecture. William Horton created his works, mainly graphic, under the influence of the occult, as he believed. He was seriously interested in spiritualism and various modern mystical doctrines. In March 1896, Yates introduced him to the masonic lodge "Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn", but Horton did not remain a member for long, as he was not religious enough to meet the requirements. he himself could not define his religion for a long time, oscillating between traditional anglicanism and catholicism. however, shortly before his death, in January 1919, he took up catholicism.