Bellamy and Hardy

Bellamy and Hardy
Former Town Hall, Ipswich
Key architects	Bellamy and Hardy
Partners	Pearson Bellamy and John Spence Hardy
Founded	Before 1849
Dissolved	c.1899
Location	Lincoln
Buildings	Ipswich Town Hall Leighton Buzzard Corn Exchange

Ipswich Town Hall

Bellamy and Hardy were an architectural practice in Lincoln, England that specialised in the design of public buildings and non-confomist chapels.

Surprisingly little is known about this architectural practice, even though they were the designers of a large number of buildings in Lincolnshire and more widely within the British Isles. In 1841 Hardy was working as an assistant to the Lincoln architect William Adams Nicholson, while Bellamy was apprenticed to Nicholson. John Spence Hardy was born in Preston in Lancashire around 1815 and Pearson Bellamy was born in Louth in 1822. They were noted as working from 30 Broadgate, Lincoln in 1856.In 1851 Pearson Bellamy was living in Melville Strreet, Lincon. In 1881 he was living with his family at 14 Tentercroft Street Lincoln and by 1889 he had moved to Weston Lodge, South Park. Bellamy and Hardy Architects and Surveyors had offices in Melville Street, Lincoln. In 1896 Pearson Bellamy is noted as working by himself at 29, Broadgate, Lincoln. These premises, which have now been re-built were adjacent on the north side to the Jolly Brewer in Broadgate. Hardy died in either 1891 or 1892 at which time the partnership was dissolved. Pearson Bellamy died in 1900.

Pevsner had mixed views about the architects work . When discussing the Royal Exchange Offices in Lincoln, he refers to Pearson Bellamy as an underrated architect, which contrasts with his description of Leighton Buzzard Town Hall (see below), which he seems to like, but criticises because it is not stylistically correct calling it Victorian at its most irresponsible. However, Pevsner considered their cemetery chapels at Loughborough the best cemetery buildings in the county.

Grimsby Town Hall

Corn Exchange, Lincoln

Louth Town Hall

Louth Town Hall, Windows and facade

Wesleyan Day School, Rosemary Lane, Lincoln.

Ipswich Town Hall

* Lindum Terrace. Lincoln. 1872. Two grand semi-detached houses designed by Bellamy and Hardy for T.G. Brogden.

Bellamy and Hardy developed an expertise in cemetery design and layout for which they were awarded contracts in various parts of midland England. The design of the cemetery chapels is fairly standard with two side chapels linked by an arch which was surmounted by a spire. At Stoke-on-Trent, they were supposed only to have laid out the cemetery and a local architect supplied the plans, but as the chapels are typical of Bellamy and Hardy's work, this is unlikely to be the case. In the Lincoln cemetery on Canwick Road, they laid out the cemetery, but another Lincoln architect, William Mortimer provided the plans for the cemetery chapels.

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Wikipedia