Praxiteles

Joseph Aloysius Hansom (Brother of Charles Hansom)

Joseph Aloysius Hansom
Born: 26-Oct-1803
Birthplace: York, North Yorkshire, England
Died: 29-Jun-1882
Location of death: London, England
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Architect, Inventor

Nationality: England
Executive summary: Invented the Hansom Cab

English architect and inventor, born in York on the 26th of October 1803. Showing an aptitude for designing and construction, he was taken from his father’s joinery shop and apprenticed to an architect in York, and, by 1831, his 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.

Wife: Hannah Glover (m. 1825)

The St. Kiklaus Kirche in Hamburg built 1845-1874 by G. Scott

Didron in his Annales Archéologiques for 1855 credits G. Scott for having introduced Pugin’s true principles into germany by the construction of the Nicholauskirche in Hamburg for the Evangelical Lutherans. It was the largest church in the city of Hamburg until it was bombed in July 1943.

Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland’s first bishop, Amadeus Rappe, built the Cathedral of St John. Work was begun in 1848 with Patrick Charles Keeley as the architect. Keeley would become one of the premier church architects of the 19th century and the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist would be one of his first Cathedral designs. The cornerstone was laid on October 22, 1848. Additional property was purchased and the first Mass was held in the temporary chapel of the Nativity on Christmas Day of 1848. During the week it housed a school. The Cathedral, built in what was called a French or ornamental Gothic style, was completed in 1852. The extreme poverty of the Diocese forced Bishop Rappe to go on fund-raising trips to France, New York City, and other parts of Ohio to help finance its completion.

A. N. Didron mentions this cathedral in his Annales Archeologiques and provides some interesti g information about the retable of the High ALtar: “La cathédrale de Cleveland, sur les bords du lac Erié, est en briques, mais l’autel et son rtable gothique, en chene, ont été sculptés dans la ville de Saint-Pol-de- Léon, en Bretagne, par Saint-Yves, un simple menuisier de campagne; il est vrai que M. Pol de Courcy guidait la main, pour ainsi dire, du respectable Saint-Yves”.

This is what the original altar looked like:

The Lady Chapel

The Cathedral as originally built and before reconstruction in 1944-1946

Unfortunately, the interior has been completely devastated. Fortunately, the retable survives but it is difficult to say what happened tot he original High Altar.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta (1847)

A.N. Didron in his Annales Archéologiques mentions this church as an example of the spread of the Gothic style thoughout the British Empire.

St. Paul’s Cathedral Church
This Catholic Church is situated on the south east of Maidan beside Rabindra Sadan. This was the first ‘Episcopal Cathedral Church’ in an oriental country.Bishop Wilson patronized the construction of this church which was designed after Indo-Gothic pattern at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs. The foundation stone was laid in 1839. Major Forbes of the Bengal Engineers’ Association made the blueprint. It was completed in 1847.

No need to tear out the hair, Samson!

Richard Hurley was wasting his time applying for the job in Cobh. Bishop Magee had been heard on several times to say publicly that “Richard Hurley will never get his hands on MY cathedral”. It is difficult to say what motivates that. Richard Hurley is perhaps not radical enough for the Bishop’s iconoclastic taste. In comparison to the wreckage proposed by O’Neill for Cobh, Richard Hurley was positovely Tridentine in the Honan Chapel.

Yes, it is true that McGhee and Paddy Jones were involved in the drawing up of the famopus guidelines. Paddy Jones in his submission to the Oral Hearing made thta clear and gave a good account of the meetings that went on with the then minsiter – one Martin Cullen (has anyone ever heard of him before?). It has been suggested that the guidelines were drawn up with Cullen having a special eye for the Cobh Cathedral and traded off as part of a deal with the government to gain the support of the Catholic CHurch for the last abortion referendum. Amazing, that anything Cullen touches leads to trouble – especially for the government.

Re Oral hearing into the reordering of St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork.

Attached is a summary of the evidence produced for the hearing by Canon John Terry, parish priest of Kanturk, Co. Cork and chairman of the Historic Churches Advisory Commission for the diocese of Cloyne. It has to be pointed out from the beginning that this gentleman does not have a doctoral qualification in any science, ecclesiastical or secular. His interest in conservation can be inferred from the dismal state into which he has allowed the parish church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady at Kanturk to decline. Pictures were posted shortly after Christmas on this thread.

His manner of conducting the meetings of the Historic Churches Advisory Commission can be gleaned from the evidence supplied by Anne Wilson – which is posted on the previous item on this thread.

Re Oral Hearing into the reordering of Cobh Cathedral

Attached is the latest financial statement returned to the Companies’ Office by the St Colman’s Catholic Trust Company. It is signed by Bishop Magee and dated 15 September 2005 and covers the year ending 2003. At the Oral Hearing, it was stated that the legal expenses incurred by the Trustees of St. Colman’s Cathedral (a completely different body) would be covered by the Restoration Fund i.e. The St Colman’s Cathedral Catholic Trust Company. However, it would not seem that the Fund is entitled to disburse funds to any body other than the Cathedral Restoration fund. Perhaps someone could study this anomaly and advise.

Note carefully the half truths mentioned in the chairman’s report on page 3. We are told that a communication process was undertaken to tell the diocese about Professor O’Neill’s plans and presumably consult. In the next paragraph we are told that planning application was submitted on 18 July 2005. The planning application was in fact submitted to Cobh Town Council BEFORE anybody was either told or consulted about it. The omniscent Brian McCutcheon, when cross examined on this point, admitted that he had taken a decision to present the planning application in parallel with the consultation process. His understanding of parallel, however, meant that the application had been lodged before the consultation began. When cross examined on the point, he admitted (to howls of laughter) that his understanding of “consultation” was different!!!!

Some shots of E. W. Pugin’s most important American commission, The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour at Roxbury, Boston