Frame was born in 1848 in Scotland.
In 1868 he was an assistant in the office of William Burges and worked on Cardiff Castle. Frame won the Royal Academy's gold medal and the Soane Medallion in 1873. In 1881 after Burges' death, Frame became architect to the Third Marquess of Bute in Cardiff. He died in 1906.

Important works

Pier Head Building, Cardiff
Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, Wales
Mount Stuart, Rothesay, Scotland   
RC Church of St Edward the Confessor, Sanday, Scotland   
Archbishop's Chapel    Edinburgh, Scotland
Palace, Falkland, Scotland   
House of Falkland, Falkland, Scotland   
Remodelling of entrance hall of house, Edinburgh, GB