Edward Joseph Hansom (22 October 1842 – 27 May 1900) was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, including many

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

churches. He was the son of

Charles Francis Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born of a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jose ...

and the nephew of

Joseph Aloysius Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, ''The Builder'', in 1843. Career H ...

(1803–1882), of an architectural dynasty from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He was articled to his father in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1859 and was taken into partnership in 1867, when the practice was based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. He moved to

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

in 1871 to enter into partnership with Archibald Matthias Dunn (1832–1917), practising under the name of Dunn and Hansom. Hansom was admitted

ARIBA SAP Ariba is an American software and information technology services company located in Palo Alto, California. It was acquired by German software maker SAP SE for $4.3 billion in 2012. Company beginnings Ariba (now SAP Ariba) was founded in ...

in 1868 and FRIBA in 1881. He served as President of the Northern Architects' Association in 1889–90 and was the first to represent the region on the RIBA Council. After a long period of ill-health, Hansom suffered from depression such that he was unable to work. He shot himself at his office and died on 27 May 1900. Notable work includes the transepts, representing the first phase of building, to Downside Abbey, Somerset (1882); St Bede's College, Alexandra Park,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

; Our Lady Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, North Berwick (1879);

St Benet's Church, Sunderland St Benet's Church is a Catholic church in Monkwearmouth in Sunderland. It was built in 1889 and designed by Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom. It is located on the corner of Thomas Street North and George Street North, half a kilom ...

(1888–9); St Mary's RC Cathedral, military memorial,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

(1889); the baptistery to

St John's Church, Bath St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church is located on the South Parade in the south-east section of Bath City Centre – the old Ham District where John Wood the Elder, the Georgian architect, had originally planned his gigantic "Forum". ...

(1871), and St Joseph's Church, Hartlepool (1895).

References

*Johnson, Michael A., 'The architecture of Dunn & Hansom' (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: University of Northumbria, MA Dissertation, 2003) *Johnson, Michael A., 'Architects to a Diocese: Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle' in ''Northern Catholic History'', No.49, 2008, pp3–17. *Johnson, Michael A., 'English Gothic, Early Perpendicular Style' in Zeilinski, P. (2007) ''The Church That Moved''. Hebburn: Smith Bros. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansom, Edward 1842 births 1900 deaths 19th-century English architects Gothic Revival architects Architects of Roman Catholic churches English Roman Catholics English ecclesiastical architects Architects of cathedrals Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects Suicides by firearm in England Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Architects from Bristol