During the mid-1830s, working at first from their father's shop, Thomas and his older brother John, born 1811, operated as commissioning agents for emigration to the colonies. Later in the decade John moved west to Chichester where he set up business as an architect, builder and writer on architectural subjects. There he designed the Corn Exchange and the east wing and ballroom of Goodwood House near Chichester. Both buildings were erected in 1837. In 1838, John was commissioned to design and build St James' Church in the Sussex village of Emsworth, close to the Hampshire border.