Arthur John Hope

Who was Arthur John Hope?

Arthur John Hope, known as “AJ” was an architect and president of the Manchester Society of Architects. He was born in Atherton, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire.

Hope entered the office of Bradshaw & Gass in 1892 as a pupil and was made a partner ten years later creating Bradshaw, Gass & Hope.

Hope was respected as a building planner but was a poor draftsman and required a large number of assistants to interpret his ideas. By the 1930s, he was an intimidating figure dominating an office in which there was a strict hierarchy of professions. One of his interpreters was George Grenfell Baines whose work so impressed Hope he considered making him a partner. Hope was a traditionalist, favouring a severe classical style derived from the later Georgian architects, with a strong dislike of Modernism; under his direction Bradshaw Gass & Hope continued to produce neo-Georgian designs until the 1960s.