Arthur John Hope [also known as A. J. Hope] was born in Atherton, Lancashire, England on 2 October 1875. He was articled to Jonas James Bradshaw (1837-1912) and John Bradshaw Gass (1855-1939) of Bradshaw & Gass in Bolton, Lancashire from 1892 to 1896 and remained with them as their assistant until 1902 during which time he also attended Bolton School of Art and Science where he studied civil engineering
In 1902 Hope was taken into partnership by Bradshaw & Gass, and the practice was renamed Bradshaw, Gass & Hope. [The comma was dropped in 1913 and the firm became Bradshaw Gass & Hope]
Hope was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1911 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1918. He was also a member of the Manchester Society of Architects and its President in 1924.
His address was given as 19, Sllverwell Street, Bolton in 1909 and 1950. He died in Manchester on 16 April 1960.
Hope designed the Bolton War Memorial. The memorial was installed in 1932, and, as part of the Bradshaw, Gass & Hope partnership, designed or oversawthe design of Leysian Wesleyan Mission, Finsbury (1902–04); Westhoughton Town Hall (1903-04); Manchester Stock Exchange (1904–06); Carnegie Library, Atherton (1904–05); Baptist Church, Market Street, Farnworth (1906); Tollard Royal Hotel, Southampton Row (1907); Queen's Hall Methodist Mission, Market Street, Wigan (1907–08); Croal Mill, Callis Road, Bolton (1908); Astley Bridge Carnegie Branch Library (1909–12); Farnworth Town Hall and Carnegie Library (1909–11); Great Lever Branch Carnegie Library (1909–12); Stockport Central Carnegie Library (1912–13); Leigh Spinners cotton mill in Leigh (1913); Miners Hall, Bolton (1913-14); Royal Exchange, Manchester (1914–21); Workshops for the Blind, Marsden Road, Bolton (1914); Methodist College, Medak (1917–25); Astley Bridge Mill, (1920–27); Miners' Convalescent Home, Blackpool (1925–27); UMIST, Manchester (1927–57); War Memorial, Bolton (1928); Co-Op, Victoria Square, Bolton (1928); Lewisham Town Hall (1928–32); Leith Theatre and Library (1929–31); Bolton Town Hall extensions and Civic Centre (1930–39); Wimbledon Town Hall (1931); Trafford Town Hall (1932-33); Boothstown Mines Rescue Station (1933); Luton Town Hall (1934–38); Chesterfield Town Hall (1937–38); Padiham Town Hall (1938); Turton High School, Bromley Cross (1939–53); Completion of Bolton School (1945–65); and Police Station and Magistrates Court, Burnley (1951-55).
Lingard, Jane and Lingard, Timothy. Bradshaw Gass and Hope : the story of an architectural practice : the first one hundred years 1862-1962. London: Gallery Lingard, 2007.