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GEORGE GILBERT SCOTT

English architect of the Victorian Age Sir George Gilbert Scott Born 13 July 1811 Parsonage, Gawcott, Buckinghamshire Died 27 March 1878 (aged 66) 39 Courtfield Gardens, South Kensington, London Nationality British Awards Royal Gold Medal (1859) Work: Buildings:Albert Memorial Foreign and Commonwealth Office Midland Grand Hotel, St Pancras railway station Main building of the University of Glasgow St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) Was chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses. He was one of the most prolific architects that Great Britain has produced, over 800[1] buildings being designed or altered by him. Scott was the architect of many iconic buildings, including the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, the Albert Memorial, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, all in London, the main building of the University of Glasgow, St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Life and career Born in Gawcott, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, Scott was the son of a clergyman and grandson of the biblical commentator Thomas Scott. He studied architecture as a pupil of James Edmeston and, from 1832 to 1834, worked as an assistant to Henry Roberts. He also worked as an assistant for his friend Sampson Kempthorne.[2] In about 1835, Scott took on William Bonython Moffatt as his assistant and later (18381845) as partner. Over the next 10 years Scott and Moffatt designed over 40 workhouses. Scott also designed working-class housing for Akroydon, Halifax in 1859. Meanwhile, he was inspired by Augustus Pugin to join the Gothic revival of the Victorian era, his first notable works in this style being the Martyrs' Memorial on St Giles', Oxford (1841) and the new St Giles' Church, Camberwell with its fine octagonal spire (1844). The choir stalls at Lancing College in Sussex, which Scott designed with Walter Tower, were among many examples of his work that incorporated green men.[3] Later, Scott went beyond copying mediaeval English gothic for his Victorian Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings, and began to introduce features from other styles and European countries as evidenced in his Midland red-brick construction, the Midland Grand Hotel at London's St Pancras Station, from which approach Scott believed a new style might emerge. Between 1864 and 1876, the Albert Memorial, designed by Scott, was constructed in Hyde Park. It was a commission on behalf of Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert.

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Scott was awarded the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal in 1859. Knighted in 1872, he died in 1878 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He married Caroline Oldrid of Boston in 1838. Two of his sons George Gilbert Scott, Jr. and John Oldrid Scott, and his grandson Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He was also related to the architect Elisabeth Scott. His youngest son was the botanist Dukinfield Henry Scott. Pupils[4] Scott's success attracted a large number of pupils, many would go on to have successful careers of their own, not always as architects. In the following list, the year next to the pupil's name denotes their time in Scott's office, some of the more famous were: Hubert Austin (1868), George Frederick Bodley (1845 56), Charles Buckeridge (1856 57), Somers Clarke (1865), William Henry Crossland (?), C. Hodgson Fowler (1856 60), Thomas Gardner (1856 61), Thomas Graham Jackson (185861), John T. Micklethwaite (186269), Benjamin Mountfort (184146), John Norton (187078), George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (185663), John Oldrid Scott (185878), J. J. Stevenson (185860), George Henry Stokes (184347), George Edmund Street (184449), William White (184547). Books[5] Remarks on secular & domestic architecture, present & future. London: John Murray. 1857. A Plea for the Faithful Restoration of our Ancient Churches. Oxford: James Parker. 1859. Gleanings from Westminster Abbey / by George Gilbert Scott, with Appendices Supplying Further Particulars, and Completing the History of the Abbey Buildings, by W. Burges (2nd enlarged ed.). Oxford: John Henry and James Parker. 1863 [1861]. Personal and Professional Recollections. London: Sampson Low & Co. 1879. Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. I. London: John Murray. 1879. Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. II. London: John Murray. 1879. Additionally he wrote over forty pamphlets and reports. As well as publishing articles, letters, lectures and reports in The Builder, The Ecclesiologist, The Building News, The British Architect, The Civil Engineer's and Architect's Journal, The Illustrated London News, The Times and Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 4. ARCHITECTURAL WORK

Although he is best known for his Gothic revival churches, Scott felt that the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras station was his most successful project.

Glasgow University's main building (1870) His projects include: 4.1. Public buildings Workhouse in Winslow, Buckinghamshire (1835) The Great Hall, Bombay University (1875) 4.2. Domestic buildings

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Vicarage, Wappenham, Northamptonshire (1833) 16 High Street, Chesham, Buckinghamshire (1835) 4.3. Church buildings St Giles' Church, Camberwell, London (184144) St Mary's Church, Hanwell, Middlesex (1841)[9]

The chapel of St John's College, Cambridge is characteristic of Scott's many church designs 4.4. Restorations Scott was involved in major restorations of medieval church architecture. Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield (1842) St. Mary's Church, Temple Balsall (1849) - 4.4.1. Cathedrals Ely Cathedral (184778) Gloucester Cathedral (185476)

The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral - 4.4.2. Abbeys, Priories and Collegiate Churches St. Mary's, Stafford (184245) Beverley Minster (1844) (186668) & (1877) - 4.4.3. Other Restoration work St Mary's of Charity in Faversham, which was restored (and transformed, with an unusual spire and unexpected interior) by Scott in 1874, and Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's), and designed the chapels of Exeter College, Oxford, St John's College, Cambridge and King's College London. He also designed St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee. Lichfield Cathedral's ornate West Front was extensively renovated by Scott from 1855 - 1878. He restored the Cathedral to the form he believed it took in the Middle Ages, working with original materials where possible and creating imitations when the originals were not available. It is recognised as some of his finest work.