Joseph Hansom
Encyclopedia
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...
working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843.
Career
Hansom was born at 114 MicklegateMicklegate
Micklegate is a street in the City of York, England. The name means "Great Street", "Gate" coming from the Old Norse gata, or street. Micklegate lies on the Western side of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, and holds the southern entrance into the city, Micklegate Bar, through which many monarchs have...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
(now the Brigantes pub) to a Roman Catholic family and baptised as Josephus Aloysius Handsom(e). He was the brother of the architect Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style.-Career:...
and the uncle of Edward J. Hansom. He was apprenticed to his father as a joiner, but showing an early aptitude for draughtsmanship and construction, he was permitted to transfer his apprenticeship to a local architect named Mr Philips.
About 1825 he settled in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, Yorkshire, and in the same year he married Hannah Glover at St. Michael le Belfrey
St. Michael le Belfrey
St. Michael le Belfrey is an Anglican church in York, England. It is situated directly next to York Minster in the heart of the city.-History:...
in York. He took a post as assistant to John Oates and there befriended Edward Welch
Edward Welch
Edward Welch was an architect born in Overton, Flintshire, in North Wales. Having been a pupil of John Oates at Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1828 Welch formed a partnership with Joseph Hansom, designer of the hansom cab. Together they designed several churches in Yorkshire and Liverpool, and also...
, with whom he formed his first architectural partnership in 1828. Together they designed several churches in Yorkshire and Liverpool, and also worked on the renovation of Bodelwyddan Castle
Bodelwyddan Castle
Bodelwyddan Castle, close to the village of Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl, Denbighshire in Wales, was built around 1460 by the Humphreys family of Anglesey as a manor house. Its most important association was with the Williams-Wynn family, which extended for around 200 years from 1690...
in Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
and King William's College in the Isle of Man. In 1831 their designs for Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
were accepted; however, the contract led to their bankruptcy, as they had stood surety for the builders. The disaster led to the dissolution of the partnership and may have contributed to Hansom becoming a radical socialist.
On 23 December 1834 he registered the design of a 'Patent Safety Cab' on the suggestion of his employer. Distinctive safety features included a suspended axle, while the larger wheels and lower position of the cab led to less wear and tear and fewer accidents. He went on to sell the patent to a company for £10,000; however, as a result of the purchaser's financial difficulties, the sum was never paid. The first Hansom Cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
travelled down Hinckley
Hinckley
Hinckley is a town in southwest Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43,246 . It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council...
's Coventry Road in 1835. The Hansom cab was improved by subsequent modifications and exported worldwide to become a ubiquitous feature of the 19th-century street scene.
In 1843 Hansom founded a new architectural journal known as The Builder, another venture which was to flourish through the century; renamed Building
Building (magazine)
Building is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as The Builder in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed Building in 1966 as it is still known today. Building is the only UK...
in 1966, it continues to this day. However, neither he nor his partner Alfred Bartholomew (1801–45) profited from the enterprise, because they were compelled to retire for lack of capital.
Between 1854 and 1879 Hansom devoted himself to architecture, designing and erecting a great number of important buildings, private and public, including numerous churches, schools and convents for the Roman Catholic Church. Buildings from his designs are to be found all over the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and South America.
Hansom practised in a succession of architectural partnerships. From 1847 to 1852 he practised in Preston, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, working briefly in association with Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin towards the end of the latter's life. After the practice moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he took his brother Charles Francis Hansom into partnership in 1854. But this partnership was dissolved in 1859 when Charles established an independent practice in Bath with his son Edward Joseph Hansom as clerk.
In 1862 Joseph Hansom formed a partnership with Edward Welby Pugin, which broke up acrimoniously in 1863. Finally (1869) he took his son Joseph Stanislaus Hansom
Joseph Stanislaus Hansom
Joseph Stanislaus Hansom, FRIBA was a British architect. He was the son and partner of the better known Joseph Aloysius Hansom, inventor of the Hansom cab. He trained with his father, becoming his partner in 1869 and taking over the family practice fully in 1880.He was among the founders of the...
into partnership.
Hansom moved to manage an estate at Caldecote Hall. He retired on 31 December 1879 and died at 399 Fulham Road
Fulham Road
Fulham Road is a street in London, England, that runs from the A219 road in right in the centre of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge and the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.Fulham Road runs parallel...
, London, on 29 June 1882.
Surviving works
Hansom designed around 200 buildings, including Birmingham Town HallBirmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
; Arundel Cathedral
Arundel Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Arundel, West Sussex, England. Dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it was not designated a cathedral until the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965...
; Oxford Oratory
Oxford Oratory
The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga is the Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road. The church is presently served by the Congregation of the Oratory....
; Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth
Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth
The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Portsmouth, England. It is the mother church of the Portsmouth Diocese and seat of the Bishop of Portsmouth, currently the Right Reverend Crispian Hollis...
; St George's Catholic Church
St George's York
St. George's Roman Catholic church is located in the centre of the city of York, England, on George Street in the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The Church was designed by Joseph Hansom and was the first pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Beverley....
in York; Mount St Mary's Catholic Church, the 'Famine Church' in Leeds; St Walburge's Church
St Walburge's Church
St Walburge's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Preston, Lancashire, England, northwest of the city centre on Weston Street. The church was built in the mid 19th century by the Gothic revival architect Joseph Hansom, designer of the hansom cab, and is famous as having the tallest spire...
in Preston (with the tallest church spire in England); St Beuno's
St Beuno's
St Beuno's Ignatian Spirituality Centre, known locally as St Beuno's College is a grade II* listed building and Jesuit college in Tremeirchion, Denbighshire, Wales. It was the home of the Victorian poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins.- Origins :...
Jesuit Theologate in North Wales, (1848); St Edward King and Confessor Catholic Church, Clifford
St Edward King and Confessor Catholic Church, Clifford
Saint Edward King and Confessor Church is a Roman Catholic church in Clifford, West Yorkshire. The church is the largest in Clifford and its tall tower is the most prominent structure in the area. The church is a grade II Listed building and serves Clifford and the surrounding villages...
; the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Manchester
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Manchester
The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus is located on Oxford Road in the heart of Manchester University's campus in Manchester, England and next door to the University hospitals. It was built between 1869 and 1871 and designed by Joseph A. Hansom & Son. The present tower, designed by Gilbert Scott,...
(1871); The Roman Catholic Plymouth Cathedral
Plymouth Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface in Plymouth, England is the seat of the Bishop of Plymouth and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, which covers the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The Diocese of Plymouth was created in 1850, but it has a...
(built 1856 — 1858); and St Mary's Priory, Fulham Road
Fulham Road
Fulham Road is a street in London, England, that runs from the A219 road in right in the centre of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge and the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.Fulham Road runs parallel...
(1876). New Walk Museum building in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, formerly a Prep School, as well as Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
’s central library, formally a Baptist chapel is in Hansom's Classical style. In Cornwall he designed the Roman Catholic churches of Falmouth and Liskeard.
Sources
- Johnson, Michael A., 'The architecture of Dunn & HansomArchibald Matthias DunnArchibald Matthias Dunn FRIBA, JP, born in Wylam in Northumberland, was with his partner Edward Joseph Hansom, among the foremost Catholic architects in North East England during the Victorian era.-Biography:...
' (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: University of Northumbria, MA Dissertation, 2003)