Background
Hansom was born on October 26, 1803 in York, England, to a Roman Catholic family and baptised as Josephus Aloysius Handsom(e). He was the brother of the architect Charles Francis Hansom and the uncle of Edward J. Hansom.
Hansom was born on October 26, 1803 in York, England, to a Roman Catholic family and baptised as Josephus Aloysius Handsom(e). He was the brother of the architect Charles Francis Hansom and the uncle of Edward J. Hansom.
Hansom 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.
By 1831, Hansom's designs for the Birmingham town hall were accepted and followed-to his financial undoing, as he had become bond for the builders. In 1834 he registered the design of a "Patent Safety Cab, " and subsequently sold the patent to a company for £10, 000, which, however, owing to the company's financial difficulties, was never paid. The hansom cab as improved by subsequent alterations, nevertheless, took and held the fancy of the public. There was no back seat for the driver in the original design, and there is little beside the suspended axle and large wheels in the modern hansom to recall the early ones. In 1834 Hansom founded the Builder newspaper, but was compelled to retire from this enterprise owing to insufficient capital. Between 1854 and 1879 he devoted himself to architecture, designing and erecting a great number of important buildings, private and public, including churches, schools and convents for the Roman Catholic church to which he belonged. Buildings from his designs are scattered all over the United Kingdom, and were even erected in Australia and South America. He died in London on the 29th of June 1882.
Founder of The Builder
In 1825 Hansom married Hannah Glover at St Michael le Belfrey in York.
