James Hibbert (1831 – 19 November 1903) was an English architect who practised in Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Life and work

Hibbert was born in Preston and educated at

Preston Grammar School Winckley Square is situated near the centre of Preston, Lancashire, England, at the west end of Avenham. The history of Winckley Square has been documented by Marian Roberts. The square was first established in 1801, around Town End Field o ...

. From 1855 Hibbert worked in partnership with Nathan Rainford. From October 1871 he was a councillor for the Christ Church ward in Preston, soon after he also became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of Preston. He was elected mayor of Preston in 1880. He resigned from the council in 1898 Hibbert's finest and most important work is the

Harris Museum The Harris Museum is a Grade I-listed building in Preston, Lancashire, England. Founded by Edmund Harris in 1877, it is a local history and fine art museum. History In the 19th century, it became legal to raise money for libraries by local ...

(1882–93), which is described by Hartwell and Pevsner in the ''

Buildings of England The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pub ...

'' series as "one of the largest, most imposing and memorable public buildings in north Lancashire". It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. He also designed Fishergate Baptist Church (1858) (with Rainford), and Preston Savings Bank (1872),also Treales Primary school (1872), also in Fishergate. Other works include an extension to Preston Royal Infirmary (1866–70), and the partial rebuilding of North Road Pentecostal Church in Preston (1885–86). Following his retirement he moved to a house he built in Anerley, London, where he died on 19 November 1903

Notes and references

Notes Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, James 1831 births 19th-century English architects Architects from Lancashire 1903 deaths