Gothic Revival architecture
May 27, 2009 by blogtopia
Filed under Architectural style
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began in the 1740s in England. Its popularity grew rapidly in the early nineteenth century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval forms in contrast to the classical styles which were then prevalent.
In England, the epicentre of this revival, it was intertwined with deeply philosophical movements associated with a re-awakening of ‘High Church’ or Anglo-Catholic self-belief (and by the Catholic convert Augustus Welby Pugin) concerned by the growth of religious nonconformism – until the style became widespread for its intrinsic appeal in the third quarter of the nineteenth century.
In parallel to the ascendancy of neo-Gothic styles in nineteenth century England, interest spread rapidly to the continent of Europe, in Australia and the Americas; indeed perhaps the number of Gothic Revival and Carpenter Gothic structures built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries exceeds the number of authentic Gothic structures that had been built previously.
The Gothic Revival was paralleled and supported by medievalism, which had its roots in antiquarian concerns with survivals and curiosities. It also took on political connotations, as well; with the "rational" and "radical" Neoclassical style being seen as associated with republicanism and liberalism (as evidenced by its use in the United States), the more "spiritual" and "traditional" Gothic Revival became associated with monarchism and conservatism, and this was reflected by the choice of styles for the rebuilt Palace of Westminster in London and Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
In English literature, the architectural Gothic Revival and classical Romanticism gave rise to the Gothic novel genre, beginning with Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, and inspired a 19th century genre of medieval poetry which stems from the pseudo-bardic poetry of "Ossian." Poems like "Idylls of the King" by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson recast specifically modern themes in medieval settings of Arthurian romance. In German literature, the Gothic Revival also had a grounding in literary fashions.
The Gothic style dictated the use of structural members in compression, leading to tall, buttressed buildings with interior columns of load-bearing masonry and tall, narrow windows. But by the turn of the 20th century, technological developments such as the steel frame, the incandescent light bulb and the elevator led many to see this style of architecture as obsolete.
Links
- Victoria and Albert Museum Style Guide
- John Vaughan, "Thomas Rickman’s essay on Gothic architecture" from Paradigm, No 7 (December, 1991)
- Basilique Sainte-Clotilde, Paris
- Canada by Design: Parliament Hill, Ottawa at Library and Archives Canada
- Books, Research and Information
- Gothic Revival in Hamilton, Ontario Canada
- Proyecto Documenta’s entries for neogothic elements at the Valparaiso’s churches
- Toronto’s Sanctuaries: Church Designs by Henry Langley