Chalkley Gould was the son of a Master Brewer in Epping, Essex. In 1881 the census recorded him as a stationer bookseller. By 1891 Chalkley Gould lived in Holdenhurst near Bournemouth,with his wife, 5 children, and 3 servants, and he was listed as a photographer. Chalkley Gould was almost certainly the 'Gould' in the partnership of Debenham and Gould, based in Bournemouth. Edwin Debenham was also in partnership with Walter Smith in Southampton in the 1880s. After that partnership was dissolved in 1887, a few portraits were produced at the Southampton studio bearing the name Debenham and Gould.
Around 1897 Chalkley Gould and Co took over 32 High Street (the former studios of Adams and Scanlan) from Hubert Henry. His 2 sons John Cecil, and Horace followed their father into photography.
The Photographers section of the 1907 Southampton directory advertised Chalkley Gould and Co (and dealers) at 32 High St. Chalkley Gould died in 1906, but the firm of Chalkley Gould and Co continued to trade at 60 Commercial Road Southampton until around 1912, when the West End Photo Co took over the studios. (See entry for Nellie.G. Smith)