 His first commission for a large house was Oakmere Hall (1867) for John & Thomas Johnson, industrialists of Runcorn.It is in High Victorian style and includes a main block and a service wing, a large tower on the south face, a small tower with turrets, a porte-cochère, steep roofs and dormer windows.Another early church was St Ann's at Warrington (1868–69), again High Victorian in style, which is described as being "quite startlingly bold" and "a prodigy church in Douglas's output".