The Architectural Achievement Of Joseph Aloysius Hansom 1803-1882: Designer Of The Hansom Cab, Birmingham Town Hall, And Churches Of The Catholic Revival
by Penelope Harris /
2010 / English / PDF
9.5 MB Download
This work is the first examination of the life of John Hansom, the Victorian architect and designer of the eponymous cab. A conventional Yorkshire upbringing led the Victorian architect, Joseph Hansom, to an unexpectedly turbulent career. His winning design of Birmingham Town Hall was nearly his downfall when it ended in bankruptcy. Dabbling in politics and supporting the Co-operative leader Robert Owen frustrated his personal cause. In dire straits he undertook a management post in Hinckley. Here he designed the 'Hansom Cab', another venture with fame but little fortune. Development of the cab took him to London, where he established a journal, "The Builder". The journal flourished, but Hansom's only reward was the sale of proprietary rights. A school in Leicester and two Warwickshire convents provided a turning point. His professional talents now widely acknowledged, he was soon in great demand. His base for the next eight years was Preston in Lancashire. This was his most intensive period of church building - but he was simultaneously working in Scotland and Worcester.With a brief period of illness and the loss of contracts, he called upon his younger brother, Charles, to assist. By the time Joseph died in 1882 he had inspired a dynasty of Hansom architects, at one time five in practice, as well as many fine buildings across the British Isles.
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