1816 - apprenticed to his father, joiner and builder. 1817 - after showing an aptitude for design and construction, he became apprenticed to Matthew Phillips, an architect of York. 1828 - entered into partnership with Edward Welch. 1834 - the partnership went bankrupt after underestimating the costs associated with the design and construction of Birmingham Town Hall. The same year, Hansom registered his idea of the ‘patent safety cab’.