Joseph Aloysius Hansom

• Born      26 October 1803 York
• Died       29 June 1882 at Fulham

Joseph Aloysius Hansom was born in York on 26 October 1803 of a Roman Catholic family. He was articled to his father as a joiner in York but having shown some ability in draughtsmanship was allowed to let his articles lapse with new ones taken out with 'Mr Philips', remaining as clerk of works. About 1825 he settled in Halifax and took a post as assistant to John Oates and there befriended Edward Welch (born 1806), with whom he formed a partnership in 1828. He invented and patented the Hansom safety cab in 1834 but was bankrupted by the contract for Birmingham Town Hall in the same year. Welch then withdrew from the partnership, re-commencing practice in Liverpool in 1837. Hansom went on to found 'The Builder' in 1842 and from 1847 to 1852 he practised in Preston Lancashire, subsequently moving to London.