Hans Price was the architect

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...

 responsible for much of the development of Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...

, in North Somerset

North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, during the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

.

Life

Hans Fowler Price was born in Langford

Lower Langford

Lower Langford is a village within the civil parish of Churchill in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It is located on the western edge of the Mendip Hills about east of Weston-super-Mare. It was a village built around estate of Sidney Hill who was the original inhabitant of the...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

. He studied under Thomas Barry in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. By the time that he married Jane Baker in 1862 he had already established his own architectural practice in Weston-super-Mare.

Jane's father was the solicitor to the Smyth Pigott family who were major landowners in the town. Price used these connections to build his business and his personal standing. He spent time as a Town Commissioner, a director of the Gaslight Company, and on many other boards and committees.

Style

Price was an eclectic architect who successfully mixed styles such as Classical

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

, Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

, Moorish

Moorish architecture

Moorish architecture is the western term used to describe the articulated Berber-Islamic architecture of North Africa and Al-Andalus.-Characteristic elements:...

 and Flemish

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 in different buildings, his works invariably used materials characteristic of the area. Grey Mendip

Mendip

Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 110,000...

 limestone from local quarries formed the walls, generally as squared rubble blocks. These were decorated with pale yellow Bath Stone

Bath Stone

Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...

 quoins

Quoin (architecture)

Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...

 and details, and roofed with Welsh slate shipped across the River Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

 or tiles produced at the Royal Pottery, Weston-super-Mare. Both domestic and public buildings of this description are familiar in Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon

Clevedon

Clevedon is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England...

, and elsewhere in the area, having been built from the 1840s through to the 1900s. Many of these were designed by other architects and builders who were influenced by Price's work.

Although rows of Price's houses have a standardised look, the extensive use of individual details in areas such as gables and windows mean that no two adjacent buildings look the same, although individual details were often repeated further down the road.

Works

Using his family connections, Price was responsible for developing much of the housing on Worlebury Hill

Worlebury Hill

Worlebury Hill is the name given to an upland area lying between the flatlands of Weston-super-Mare and the Kewstoke area of North Somerset, England. Worlebury Hill's rises from sea level to its highest point of , and the western end of the hill forms a peninsula, jutting out into the Bristol...

 to the north of the developing Weston-super-Mare town centre. Many buildings in Church Road, Grove Park Road, Cecil Road, South Road and other roads in the district were designed in his offices.

Public buildings designed by Hans Price include:

Weston-super-Mare

• Wadham Street Baptist Church (1862). Situated in the oldest part of the town, this church was built using parts of the first public building in Weston-super-Mare that had been on the same site. It now houses the Blakehay Theatre
  The Blakehay Theatre, Weston-super-Mare
  The Blakehay Theatre, is a 199 seat theatre in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England.-History:Originally built in 1850 as Wadham Street Baptist Church....
  
  .
• Hospital (1865). Later becoming the dispensary for an expanded hospital in Alfred Street, this building has been converted into flats and is known as Hans Price House.
• Toll House and Piermaster's House (1867) and Birnbeck Pier
  Birnbeck Pier
  Birnbeck Pier is a pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately south west of Bristol...
  
  head buildings (1897). The pier links Worlebury Hill and Birnbeck island at the northern limit of the sea front. The building is currently derelict and, as is the pier itself, in need of being found a new sustainable use that will allow its restoration.
• Bristol Road Baptist Church (1866). This church is built in pink limestone. It serves the upper class housing development on Worlebury Hill and is situated just above The Boulevard.
• Sanatorium
  Sanatorium
  A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
  
   (1871). Situated in Uphill Road North at the south end of the beach, the Royal Hospital has since been converted into flats as part of the Royal Sands housing development. The Hans Price-designed building is now known as Royal Court
• The Boulevard (1874–81). Price built piecemeal much of this street including his own office (1874), Church Institute (1881).
• Masonic
  Freemasonry
  Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
  
   Lodge of St Kew (1881 – now the Constitutional Club),... and the Weston Mercury newspaper office (1885).
• Somerset House (1897-9).This terrace of shops occupies the east side of the northern section of the High Street. The central section once housed a market hall but this was destroyed by fire in the 1960s and was replaced by The Playhouse
  The Playhouse, Weston-Super-Mare
  The Playhouse is a 664 seat theatre in Weston-super-Mare, England that hosts a largely entertainment based programme of shows all year round including opera, ballet, comedy, music and pantomime performances....
  
   theatre.
• The School of Science and Art (1892). In Lower Church Road. For a time home to the Art Department of Weston College
  Weston College
  Weston College is a further education college situated in Weston-super-Mare, England. The college has 7,500 students who are taught at facilities in Weston-super-Mare and Nailsea...
  
  . The buillding now stands empty and its future is uncertain.
• Town Hall (1897). Hans Price was responsible for the extension of an earlier Town Hall in Walliscote Road.
• The Board Schools
  School board (England & Wales)
  School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
  
   (1897). Now Walliscote School, separate boys' and girls' schools were built on a shared site close to the Town Hall.
• Locking Road Schools. This was the Walliscote Senior School for many years but has now been converted to flats.
• Public Library
  Public library
  A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
  
   (1899). A rare building that makes extensive use of red brick. It is situated at the eastern end of The Boulevard.
• Weston-super-Mare Gaslight Company (1912). The workshops for the gas company in Burlington Street now houses the Weston-super-Mare Museum.

Elsewhere

• The Toll House, Clevedon Pier
  Clevedon Pier
  Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, on the English side of the Severn Estuary. It is situated next to the Royal Pier Hotel....
  
  .
• The Royal Pier Hotel, Clevedon
  Royal Pier Hotel, Clevedon
  The Royal Pier Hotel is a Grade II listed building located in Clevedon, North Somerset, England.-History:The Royal Pier Hotel was built in 1823 by Thomas Hollyman, and originally called The Rock House. In 1868, the building was expanded by local architect Hans Price and renamed Rock House & Royal...
  
  .
• Town Market Hall, Clevedon.

Legacy

An art gallery in Weston College

Weston College

Weston College is a further education college situated in Weston-super-Mare, England. The college has 7,500 students who are taught at facilities in Weston-super-Mare and Nailsea...

 called the Hans Price Gallery was housed in the former School of Science and Art, a building that was designed by Price. The old Weston-super-Mare Hospital dispensary has been named Hans Price House and stands on the corner of Hans Price Close. In 2011, it was announced that Wyvern Community School in Weston-super-Mare was to receive academy funding of £14 million and be renamed to Hans Price Academy.