Joseph Phillips was born in Southport, Lancashire, England on 16 October 1865. He lived in Altringham, Cheshire where he was active as a woodcarver from 1888 onwards. He also taught woodwork and allied subjects at schools in the North of England and the Midlands. He also took classes for the Home Arts and Industries Association, and wrote an educational primer - 'Wood carving: being a carefully graduated educational course for schools and adult classes' (London: Chapman and Hall, 1896). Examples of his work include a screen at Irwerne Minster (1900); the pulpit and screen at Long Newton, Yorkshire (1904); a lychgate for the architect Edmund Schroder Prior; and carvings for the Lady Chapel at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral from 1910 onwards.