He was educated at the independent Repton School in the village of Repton in Derbyshire and at Armstrong College in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.He was the managing director of Davy & United Engineering and chairman of Davy-Ashmore in Sheffield, and achieved success as a producer of high quality British steel.
He was made a knight by Harold Wilson in the 1965 New Year Honours in recognition of his contributions to British engineering.He married Sylvia Joan Finlay, with whom he had five children including photographer Mark Fiennes.
He was the grandfather of actors Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes.