Arthur John Hope
Encyclopedia
Arthur John Hope, known as “AJ” (1875–1960) was an architect
and president of the Manchester Society of Architects (1924). He was born in Atherton, Greater Manchester
, then in the historic county of Lancashire.
Hope entered the office of Bradshaw & Gass in 1892 as a pupil and was made a partner ten years later creating Bradshaw, Gass & Hope
(after 1912 Bradshaw Gass & Hope).
Hope was respected as a building planner but was a poor draftsman and required a large number of assistants to interpret his ideas. By the 1930s, he was an intimidating figure dominating an office in which there was a strict hierarchy of professions. One of his interpreters was George Grenfell Baines
whose work so impressed Hope he considered making him a partner. Hope was a traditionalist, favouring a severe classical
style derived from the later Georgian
architects, with a strong dislike of Modernism
; under his direction Bradshaw Gass & Hope continued to produce neo-Georgian designs until the 1960s.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and president of the Manchester Society of Architects (1924). He was born in Atherton, Greater Manchester
Atherton, Greater Manchester
Atherton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It is east of Wigan, north-northeast of Leigh, and northwest of Manchester...
, then in the historic county of Lancashire.
Hope entered the office of Bradshaw & Gass in 1892 as a pupil and was made a partner ten years later creating Bradshaw, Gass & Hope
Bradshaw Gass & Hope
Bradshaw Gass & Hope is an English firm of architects founded in 1862 by Jonas James Bradshaw . The style "Bradshaw Gass & Hope" was adopted after J. J...
(after 1912 Bradshaw Gass & Hope).
Hope was respected as a building planner but was a poor draftsman and required a large number of assistants to interpret his ideas. By the 1930s, he was an intimidating figure dominating an office in which there was a strict hierarchy of professions. One of his interpreters was George Grenfell Baines
George Grenfell Baines
Professor Sir George Grenfell-Baines OBE DL was an English architect and town planner. Born in Preston, as George Baines, his family’s humble circumstances forced him to start work at the age of fourteen. Both George and his younger brother, Richard , were prodigiously gifted mathematicians and...
whose work so impressed Hope he considered making him a partner. Hope was a traditionalist, favouring a severe classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style derived from the later Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
architects, with a strong dislike of Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
; under his direction Bradshaw Gass & Hope continued to produce neo-Georgian designs until the 1960s.