Charles Francis Hansom
Encyclopedia
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect
who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival
style.
. He was the brother of Joseph Aloysius Hansom, architect and creator of the Hansom cab
, and father of the architect Edward Joseph Hansom
. He practised in partnership with his brother, Joseph, in London from 1854. This partnership was dissolved in 1859 when Charles established an independent practice in Bath with his son Edward (born 22 October 1842) as an articled clerk. He took his son into partnership in 1867, by which time the practice had moved to Bristol
, with a large West Country practice of church and collegiate architecture. In Bristol he took on Benjamin Bucknall
as an assistant.
He was commonly known as Francis the Hansom, as he was rather handsome.
The original Clifton College
buildings were all designed by Hansom.
His first design at Clifton was for Big School (then a meeting hall and now the school canteen) and a proposed dining hall. Only the former was actually built and a small extra short wing was added in 1866. This is what now contains the Marshal's office and the new staircase into Big School.
Hansom was called back to the College in the 1870s and asked to design what is now the Percival Library and the open-cloister classrooms. This project was undertaken in two stages and largely completed by 1875, although the Wilson Tower was not built until 1890.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style.
Career
He was born of a Roman Catholic family in YorkYork
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...
. He was the brother of Joseph Aloysius Hansom, architect and creator of 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 father of the architect Edward Joseph Hansom
Edward Joseph Hansom
Edward Joseph Hansom was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, including many Roman Catholic churches....
. He practised in partnership with his brother, Joseph, in London from 1854. This partnership was dissolved in 1859 when Charles established an independent practice in Bath with his son Edward (born 22 October 1842) as an articled clerk. He took his son into partnership in 1867, by which time the practice had moved to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, with a large West Country practice of church and collegiate architecture. In Bristol he took on Benjamin Bucknall
Benjamin Bucknall
thumb|240px|right|Woodchester Mansion, GloucestershireBenjamin Bucknall was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in Southwest England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria...
as an assistant.
He was commonly known as Francis the Hansom, as he was rather handsome.
Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
buildings were all designed by Hansom.
His first design at Clifton was for Big School (then a meeting hall and now the school canteen) and a proposed dining hall. Only the former was actually built and a small extra short wing was added in 1866. This is what now contains the Marshal's office and the new staircase into Big School.
Hansom was called back to the College in the 1870s and asked to design what is now the Percival Library and the open-cloister classrooms. This project was undertaken in two stages and largely completed by 1875, although the Wilson Tower was not built until 1890.
Works (new built)
- Our Lady and St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church, Hanley SwanHanley SwanHanley Swan is a small village in the English county of Worcestershire. It lies in the Malvern Hills district, between the towns of Malvern 2 miles away, and Upton-upon-Severn. Together with the neaby village of Hanley Castle, its population is about 1500. The very traditional English village...
, WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, 1846 - Our Lady of Dolours chapel, Holy Cross Abbey, Stapehill, DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, 1847–51 - Erdington AbbeyErdington AbbeyErdington Abbey Church on Sutton Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England, is the more usual name of the grade II listed church of Saints Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Birmingham served by the Redemptorists...
, ErdingtonErdingtonErdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 1848 - St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church, Cheltenham, GloucestershireGloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, 1854–77 - Altar in Gothic Mortuary Chapel, Perrymead Roman Catholic Cemetery (altar carved by Boulton of CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, lodge and chapel designed in 1855 by a Mr. Hill) - Plymouth CathedralPlymouth CathedralThe 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...
(with Joseph HansomJoseph HansomJoseph Aloysius Hansom was a prolific English architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843....
), 1856–58 - Little Malvern Court, Little MalvernLittle MalvernLittle Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
, Worcestershire: west wing, 1860 - St John's, Bath, Somerset, 1861–63
- Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, Broxwood, HerefordshireHerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, 1863 - Rhydd Court, GuarlfordGuarlfordGuarlford is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated between the settlements of Barnards Green and Rhydd approximately three kilometres east of Great Malvern, the town centre of Malvern...
, Worcestershire: chapel, 1863 - Malvern CollegeMalvern CollegeMalvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
, Worcestershire, 1863–71 - Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, SouldernChurch of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, SouldernThe Parish Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Church of England parish church of Souldern, a village in Oxfordshire about northwest of Bicester and a similar distance southeast of Banbury.-History:...
, Oxfordshire, 1869–70 - Papal Count Eyre Memorial Chantry, Perrymead Roman Catholic Cemetery, Lyncombe, BathLyncombe, BathLyncombe is a district and electoral ward in Bath, Somerset and a former parish in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. In the mid-19th century the parish was formed when the parish of Widcombe and Lyncombe was split in two, but it was abolished in the late 1960s...
, Somerset - Woodchester ParkWoodchester MansionWoodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house located in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield in Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England...
, Nympsfield, Gloucestershire (first scheme) - Christ Church, Barton Hill, BristolBarton Hill, BristolBarton Hill is an area of Bristol, just to the east of the city centre and Bristol Temple Meads railway station.It includes residential, retail and industrial premises and is crossed by major roads, railway tracks and the feeder canal leading to Bristol Harbour.-History:Barton was a manor just...
, 1883 (demolished 1957)
Sources
- Clifton College archives