 He was the son and business partner of Alfred Waterhouse, an architect who designed many well-known buildings in England and had been President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).Waterhouse was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, obtaining his MA in 1887.Waterhouse joined his father's practice and became a partner in 1891, taking over the practice in 1905 and continuing his father's commitment to working on large business and public buildings.