The Origins of Gothic Revival

The Origins of the Gothic Revival: A Reappraisal: The Alexander Prize Essay
Author(s): Giles Worsley

Source: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Sixth Series, Vol. 3 (1993), pp. 105-150
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal Historical Society
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THE ORIGINS OF THE GOTHIC REVIVAL: A

REAPPRAISAL
TheAlexander
PrizeEssay
By GilesWorsley
READ29 MAY1992
FOR the past 40 years the dominantinfluenceover architectural

and in particularoverstylistic
history,
analysis,has been the Modern
Movement.Sometimesdeliberately,
sometimesunconsciously,
architecturalhistory
has been seenthrough
theteleological
spectaclesofthe
Modernistswho viewed architecture
as a progressive
forceleading
towards
the
ultimate
of
Modernism.
At its most
inevitably
triumph
obvious this can be seen in studiesof late-nineteenthand earlyarchitecture
whichconcentrated
on thosestrands
that
twentieth-century
couldbe saidto havebeentheprecursors
ofModernism,
whileignoring
factors
whichdo notfitin withtheModernist
powerful
contemporary
ofClassicalarchitecture
in the1930s.Buteven
thesis,likethe strength
whendiscussing
earlierperiodsthesamebasicassumption
hasprevailed,
thatarchitectural
Thuswhatbecame
styleshouldbe seenas progressive.
was identifying
newfashionsand tracingtheprecedents.
As
important
architectural
moved
that
was
not
innovative
on,
stylealways
anything
or seemedto be regressive
was assumedto be old fashionedand the
resultof ignoranceor lack of skill,and consequently
of littleinterest.
Withthe collapseof Modernism,or at least of the assumptionthat
Modernismis theonlyacceptablewayin whichto build,and withthe
revivalofolderstyleswhichIo yearsago werethought
to be dead and
needsrevision.
buried,thisteleological
approachtoarchitectural
history
The studyof GothicRevivalarchitecture
in Englandis one area that
is revolutionised
by theremovalofModernistassumptions.
The incidenceof GothicRevivalarchitecture
in Englandhas genhistorians.
erallybeen marginalised
by architectural
Examplesin the
seventeenth
are usuallyseen as 'GothicSurvival',theassumpcentury
tionbeingthatthedesigner
knewno better,
whilethestandardaccount
of theGothicRevivalin theeighteenth
startswith
century
commonly
Horace Walpole and StrawberryHill-indeed the styleis often
describedas 'Strawberry
Hill Gothic'-withperhapsa nod at William
Kent'sGothicdesigns.The Gothicworkof Sir Christopher
Wrenand
105

IO6
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY
the Officeof Worksis acknowledged

but seen to be withoutissue.'
However,once theteleological
spectaclesof Modernismare removed
it is possibleto see theGothicRevivalin a verydifferent
light.Instead
ofbeinga brief,ratherfrivolous,
episodeofthe1750sit can be seenas
a continuousundercurrent
in Englisharchitecture
fromthe sixteenth
It ceasesto be a stylistic
footnote
and becomesa documentof
century.
idealsand aspirations.
Indeed,one couldquestionthevery
antiquarian
conceptof the GothicRevivaland arguethatone shouldinsteadbe
Gothictradition.
talkingofthecontinuing
Duringthe middleyearsof the sixteenth
centuryEnglishbuilders
and patronsbeganto demonstrate
a firmgraspofClassicalarchitecture
at placeslikeLacockAbbey,Wiltshire
(1540),SomersetHouse,London
(1547), Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire(1570), and Longleat, Wiltshire
but thisincipientRenaissanceappearsto have petered

(I573) (Fig I),
out in the I57os,leadingJohn Aubreyto complaina centurylater
that'underElizabetharchitecture
made no progressbut ratherwent
backwards.'"This relatively
pure Classicismwas supersededby a
those
styleinspiredmoreby late-Perpendicular
buildings,
particularly
associatedwiththecourtofHenryVII and theyoungHenryVIII. But
in an important
thisshould
as MarkGirouardsuggested
earlyarticle,3
not be seen as regression
choice.Three
but as a deliberatestylistic
examplesillustratethe point: BurghleyHouse, Northamptonshire,
and WardourCastle,Wiltshire.
Snape Castle,Yorkshire,
WilliamCecil,who beganbuildingBurghley
House in 1556, would
a Classicalschemehad he wanted
havebeenquitecapableofobtaining
one. Created lord Burghleyin 1571and lord high treasurerin 1572,he
man in ElizabethanEngland.The earlywork

was themostpowerful
at Burghleyhas strongClassical elements;in particularthe chapel
staircase
dated156ois one ofthemostimportant
earlyClassicalinteriors
in the country(Fig 2). However,the laterwork,especiallythe west
harks
frontof 1577withitsgreatcentralgatehouse(Fig3), deliberately
and
even
medieval
back to pre-Classical,
early-Tudor
buildings.This
hammer-beamed
clear in the impressively-large
is particularly
great
hall (Fig 4), and in the kitchenwhichis probablymodelledon the
thatlord
monastickitchenat Ely.It was notonlythrough
architecture
'The standardaccountofBritish
architectural
ofthisperiodremainsArchitecture
history
revised
first
inBritain
publishedin 1953butextensively
1530o-83obySirJohnSummerson,
Revival
since.The mostrecentstudyof theGothicRevivalis TheOrigins
by
oftheGothic
Michael McCarthy(1987).This setsout to shiftattention
away fromHorace Walpole
on Walpoleand hiscircle.
butin theend concentrates
primarily
and the GothicTradition',
'Quoted by Mark Girouard,'ElizabethanArchitecture
to in thetextare printedafterthetext,
Architectural
VI (1963),30. Figuresreferred
History,
in theseillustrations
on page 122. Copyright
belongsto Country
beginning
Life.
andtheElizabethan
3MarkGirouard,Robert
House,1983,30-35Smythson
Country

ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL
IO7
An elaborate
triedtopresentan imageofrespectable
antiquity.
Burghley
but spuriouspedigreecommissioned
by Burghleyfromthe heralds
back
survivesat HatfieldHouse, 'proving'thathis ancestrystretched
thisis a scene of two armoured
into the mistsof time.Illustrating
one a putativeCecil ancestor.All thismakessenseof
knights
fighting,
whichdepicts
tombin St Martin'sChurch,Stamford,
lavish
Burghley's
but
him clad in fullarmour,an incongruous
imagefora statesman,
not fora man tryingto stresshis family'smedievalorigins.In fact
Burghley'soriginswere relativelyhumble,to which he remained
of state.Thus theearl of
sensitive,
despiteholdingthehighestoffices
line would benefitif it
thatBurghley's
Northumberland's
suggestion
'wereplantedin some stockeof honour'fellon receptiveears, and
Burghley
quicklyagreedto a proposedmarriagebetweenhiseldestson
sister-in-law
Thomas and Northumberland's
DorothyNeville.The
marriage took place in 1564, and in 1577 the young couple inherited
the manor house at Snape in Yorkshire.As if to stressthis link

the
Thomas Cecil transformed
withone of England'soldestfamilies,
but unfortified
manorhouseintoa shamcastle,complete
substantial
showthat
and towers,althoughsurviving
withcrenellations
fragments
theinternal
decoration
wascarriedoutin an advancedClassicalmanner
(Fig 5).4
ofSnape Castlemakesan interesting

Cecil'sremodelling
comparison
luxuriousremodelling
of fourteenth-century
withRobertSmythson's
WardourCastle for Sir MatthewArundellin the 1570s.Smythson
would have had no difficulty
workingin a purelyClassicalmanner.
Longleatwas beingerectedto hisdesignsat thesametime,whilemany
ofthedetailsat Wardoursuchas thedoorcasesare accurately
Classical,
as theywere at Snape (Fig 6). But whenhe came to rewindowthe
the
Gothicwindowslighting
castlehe deliberately
keptthetwo-storey
greathall,and used archedlightsseparatedby mullionsonlyforthe
newwindows-a clearGothicformwhichcontrasted
withthefashion
of the 1570sforsquare-headed
mullionand transomopenings(Fig 7).5
Arundell'smedievalising
attitudetowardsWardourcan probablybe
had risento considerable
wealth
explainedbyhisparentage.His father
froma humble gentrybackgroundbeforebeing attaintedon the
disgraceof the duke of Somersetin 1554,whilehe himselfhad so
thatby I588 he was one of twelveknights
increasedhis fortune
listed
as beingof 'greatpossessions'and richenoughto supporta peerage.
Such a dizzyrisewouldinevitably
have broughtaccusationsthathe
was an upstart,and it is not surprising
that Arundellwould have
withthemiddleages.
wantedto associatehimself
4GilesWorsley,
Life,6 Mar. 1986.
'Snape Castle,Yorkshire,'
Country
Life,14 Feb. I99I.
5MarkGirouard,'WardourCastle,Wiltshire-I',
Country

o08
was
As Dr Girouardhas shown,thisGothicRevivalin architecture
found
a
in
middle
to
be
of
wider
revival
of
interest
the
ages
among
part
in thelatterpartof Queen Elizabeth'sreign.This expressed
courtiers
itselfin such medievalobsessionsas heraldry,
pedigrees,elaborate
on thequeen. It was a
tournaments
and a chivalriccultconcentrated
whichspilledoverintothenextreignwhereit can be seen
fascination
in theJacobean sham castlesof Lulworth,Dorset (16o8),Bolsover,
Derbyshire (1612) and Ruperra, Glamorgan (1626). Bolsover in par-
ticular,whichwas builton thesiteofa genuinecastle,has a markedly

use ofvaultingand itsGothic-leaning
medievalfeelwithitsextensive
chimney
pieces.
ismarkedbya deliberate
Elizabethanarchitecture
However,although
in formifnotalwaysin detail,and a return
moveawayfromClassicism
Gothicstyles,the clash betweenClassicaland
to earlier,essentially
and eighteenth
Gothicis lessmarkedthanitwastobe in theseventeenth
HouseslikeLongleatshowthatClassicismhad been undercenturies.
was stillveryrecentit
stoodin England,but as the Gothictradition
to reviveit duringElizabeth'sreign.Indeedit could
was not difficult
of an earlierstyle.The firm
almostbe seen as a naturalcontinuation
in theyearsleading
ofa Classicaltradition
establishment
byInigoJones
becameaccepted
this
Classicism
war
to
the
civil
perspective.
changed
up
to build,
as the'correct'style,theonlystylein whichitwas respectable
in JohnEvelyn'swords,as
was dismissed,
whileGothicarchitecture
'heavy,dark,melancholyand MonkishPiles,withoutanyjust Proportion,Use.orBeautycomparedwiththetrulyAncient'.'For therest
of the seventeenth
century
centuryand fornearlyall the eighteenth
was acceptedby
of Classicalarchitecture
theundisputed
preeminence
all educatedmen.Duringtheseyearsanyonewho choseto use Gothic
designsdid so as a deliberatereactionagainstClassicism.
and no qualms
InigoJoneshad no timeforGothicarchitecture,
aboutencasingthenave of St Paul's Cathedralin Classicaldress.His
in his
Palladianenthusiast
HenryWottonwas outspoken
contemporary
the
natural
'both
for
arches
that
imbecility
contempt,
arguing
pointed
fortheirveryuncomeliness,
and likewise
ofthesharpangleitself,
ought
the
to be exiledfromjudiciouseyes,and leftto theirfirstinventors,
Gothsor Lombards,amongstotherrelicsof thatbarbarousage'.7But
thisdid notpreventthefellowsof Oxfordand Cambridgedeliberately
Gothicelements.Duringthe
buildingsincorporating
commissioning
and particularly
halfoftheseventeenth
first
duringthe163os,
century,
thechapel
Oxfordsaw a wholesequenceofGothicbuildings
including
windowsand hammer-beamroofof the hall at Wadham (16o8-10), the
andArchitecture, 9.
ofArchitects
'JohnEvelyn,AnAccount
I723,
1624, 51.
ofArchitecture,
7HenryWotton,TheElements

ORIGINS
OFGOTHIC
REVIVAL
0O9
chapel of Lincoln(1629-31)(Fig 8), the chapel

purelyPerpendicular
windowsofJesus(1621and 1636)and thehall and chapelof St Mary
It has been questionedwhetherthiswas the resultof
Hall (1637-42).8
GothicSurvival-thatis Gothicwas theonlystyleknownto thefellows
chose
and theircraftsmen-orRevival-thatis thefellowsdeliberately
GothicratherthanClassical.It seemsclearthatthelatteris thecase.
awareofalternative
as
Membersoftheuniversity
werecertainly
styles,
can be seenfroma proposedplan forUniversity
Collegeofabout1634
withthreeprojecting
whichwouldhaveproduceda Classicalquadrangle
It
in
favour
of
the
executed
schemewhichis
was
porticos.
rejected
Gothicin inspiration.9
But, as Sir NikolausPevsnerhas
essentially
pointedout,it is theexampleof StJohn'sCollege,Cambridge,which
builtin 1624,was deliberately
provesthepoint.Here thenew library,
traceried
Gothic
windows
on
the
given
groundsthat'some men of
old
liked
the
best
the
fashion
of
churchwindow,holdingit
judgement
mostmeetforsucha building'.The statement
was madebythedonor
ofthelibrary,
BishopWilliamsof Lincoln,who also paid forthepure
of the
chapelof LincolnCollege,Oxford.The strength
Perpendicular
Gothic traditionin Oxford and Cambridgeprobablyarises from
antiquarianleanings,butalso fromdislikeofradicalchanges.
thatone first
findsa positive
However,itis withtheCommonwealth
rejectionof Classicism.Few people could have been as exposedto
whosesecondhusband,the
JonesianClassicismas LadyAnneClifford
earl
of
of
was
the
builder
Pembroke,
Wilton,the greatestof the
4th
CarolineClassicalhouses.And yet,whenshe retiredon his deathto
herancestralClifford
estatesin Yorkshire
and Westmorland
duringthe
she deliberately
Commonwealth,
put thatClassicismbehindher.In a
in the
influence
positiveorgyof buildingintendedto reassertClifford
the familycastlesof Skipton,
area, Lady Anne set about restoring
Brough,Brougham,Appleby,Pendragonand BardenTower,at the
sametimerebuilding
orrepairing
theassociatedchurches
ofSt Lawrence's and St Michael's,Appleby;Outhgill,
St Ninian'snear
Mallerstang;
Penrith;St Michael'sBrough;and St Wilfred's,
Brougham(Fig9). New
workon boththecastlesand the churcheswas in a suitablymedieval
manner.At SkiptonCastle,forinstance,
sherestored
thetowers,
which
had been slightedat the end of thecivilwar,to theiroriginalheight,
while at Broughthe windowswere restoredto matchthe existing
Normanwindowsin thekeep(Fig io). All thechurcheswereexecuted
in a Gothicmannerwithouta traceoftheClassicismwhichshewould
have been quite capable of imposingon her workmenhad she so
Sherwoodand NikolausPevsner,TheBuildings
'Jennifer
ofEngland,
Oxfordshire,
1974,35-
9Howard Colvin, UnbuiltOxford,

1983, 10-12.

I IO
TRANSACTIONS
OF THE ROYALHISTORICAL
SOCIETY
wanted.'o Instead she wished to stressthe antiquityof the Cliffordline
and its connectionswith the great familiesof medieval England, the

Lucys,Berkeleys,Nevillesand Percys,somethingwhichshe did through
an obsessive use of heraldry--thereare seventeenshields of arms on
her father'stomb, twenty-four
on her own. This could best be done by
the
Gothic
and
style
using
ignoringClassicism.
An equally overt statementwas made by Sir Robert Shirleywhen
he built an almost pure Perpendicular church at Staunton Harold,
Leicestershire,from1653 (Fig II). Shirleysucceeded to the baronetcy
and his estate on the death of his brotherin 1646 when he was only
seventeen, and shortlyafterwardsinherited substantialsums on the
death of his uncle the earl of Essex. He soon proved himselfa devoted
Royalist who continued to conspire even afterthe king's execution.
The resultwas a successionof spellsin the Tower of London where he
died in 1656." Shirley'smotivationin buildingsuch a church is made
clear on an inscriptionover the westentrance:'In the yeare: 1653when
all thingssacredwere throughoutye nationEitherdemolishtor profaned
Sr Richard Shirley Barronet Founded this Church whose singular
praise it is to have done the best of thingsin ye worsttimesAnd hoped
themin the mostcallamitous.The Righteousshall be had in everlasting
remembrance.'For a Royalistto build a churchduringtheseyearswas
clearlyan act of defiance,but thatdefiancewas made even more overt
by the choice of Gothic when it would have been possible to find
craftsmenwho could have built the church in a Classical manner, as
happened at the contemporarychurch at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
It is not surprisingthat Shirley should have chosen an Anglican
church as his symbol of defiance, for under the Commonwealth the
Church of England sufferedseverely,and thiswas particularlytrue of
the bishops whose officeswere abolished and estatesand palaces sold.
Those returningat the Restoration often found their palaces badly
neglectedor partlydemolished,and as a resultthe bishopswere among
the most active builders in the early 1660s. The most noteworthy
example of thiswas the rebuildingof the great hall at Lambeth Palace,
the archbishopof Canterbury'sLondon seat, by ArchbishopJuxon in
1660-63 (Fig 12). The use of Gothic traceriedwindowsand a hammerbeam roofhas led some commentatorsto assume thatJuxonwas unable
to find an architectcapable of designinga pure Classical building.'2
But contemporaryworkin a similarvein by otherbishops suggeststhat
Monuments
and their
'John Charlton,'The Lady Anne Clifford(I590-I676)' Ancient
ed. M. R. Aptedetal.,1977,303-14; ThomasCocke,'RepaireroftheBreach',
Interpretation.
Country
Life,25 Oct. 1990.
" Dictionary
XVIII, 137-38.
oftheNational
Biography,
"RichardHaslam,'LambethPalace,London-II',Country
Life,25 Oct. 1990.

III
chosethisstyle.AtDurhamCathedralBishopCosin
Juxondeliberately
installednew woodworkin 1663-65thatis Gothicin formwithsome
renaissance
detail,thefinest
examplebeingthegreatfont(Fig
surviving
In the castle at Durham Cosin restoredthe great hall in 1662-63
13).13'
orderedthatthe windowsof his new staircasetower

and specifically
shouldmatchthoseof the towerat the otherend of the northfront
At
withtheirpre-Classicalhoodmoulds,mullionsand archedlights.'4
his otherpalace of BishopAuckland,CountyDurham,Cosin had to
make good the damage done by Sir ArthurHaselrigg,includingthe
ofthechapel.Cosin converted
thetwelfth-century
demolition
hallinto
a chapel, refacingthe exterior,adding the clerestory
(Fig 14) and
new woodwork(Fig I5), all in a markedlyGothic
commissioning
manner.He also turnedthepresencechamberintohis greathall.'5At
the archbishopof York,Accepted
BishopthorpePalace, Yorkshire,
Frewen,foundthe thirteenth-century
greathall and chapel in ruins.
He couldhave abandonedthemand livedin theextensive
northwing
or rebuiltthe palace to a Classical plan. Instead,like Cosin, he
maintainedthearchaicmedievalplan,restored
thechapeland rebuilt
thegreathall.'6 Similarly,
thecathedralat Lichfield,
had
Staffordshire,
beenextensively
damagedduringthecivilwarlosingitsspireand much
of its roof.Between1662 and 1669it was restoredby BishopHacket
in a Gothicmanner,witheventhespirebeingrebuilt.'7
Had thesebishopswantedtobuildin a Classicalmannertherewould
havebeen no shortageofcraftsmen
capableofdoingso, forknowledge
of Classicismwas widelydistributed
by the I66os, even if the underhave
been
limited.
of Gothic
Indeed,the combination
standingmay
formswithquitepure Classicalelements,
whichhad been anticipated
in thechapeland libraryat BrasenoseCollege,Oxford,builtin 165666, makesit clear thatthismixedstylewas deliberate.The bishops
musthave chosento maintainmedievalmodels,in particular
thegreat
hall whichsecularpeerswere abandoning,and use Gothicforms,to
emphasisethe antiquityof theirbuildingsand so reassertepiscopal
aftertheunfortunate
breakforcedby theCommonwealth.'8
continuity
Durham,
County
'3NikolausPevsner,TheBuildings
ofEngland,
1983,195-99'4lbid.,213-17; MarcusBinney,'DurhamCastle,Co. Durham',Country
Life,28 Sept.
1991.
'AucklandCastle,Co. DurhamI and II',
'5JohnCornforth,
Life,27Jan.and 3
Country
Feb. 1972.
Palace,York',Country
'6GilesWorsley,
'Bishopthorpe
Life,8 July199I.
XIV, 1990, 52.
County
History,
'7 Victoria
Stafford
'sThis mixedstylewas notconfinedto England.An interesting

parallelcan be found
in contemporary
Italianprojectsforcompleting
thefacadesofGothicchurches,
as in the
designsof GirolamoRainaldiforS. Petronio,Bologna(1626),and thoseof Francesco
Castelliand Carlo Buzzi fortheDuomo in Milana of 1648and 1653.(RudolfWittkower,
Gothic
New York,1974,figs.6o-67, III.) JohnOniansalso shedsvaluablelight
vs Classic,

112
TRANSACTIONS
OF THE ROYALHISTORICAL
SOCIETY
was builtin 1685-89

By thetimethenewBishop'sPalace at Lichfield
thissensitivity
had wornoff,and thedesignis unambiguously
Classical.
For the restof the seventeenth
centurythe streamof the Gothic
Revivalrunsthinbut does not dryup.'9These decadessaw thefinal
triumphof Classicismas it spreadto all levelsof buildingacrossthe
wholecountry,
but the GothicRevivalcontinuedin twobranches,in
domesticarchitecture,
wherethe antiquarianinterests
of a numberof
were expressedin medievalising
and in public
aristocrats
references,
ecclesiastical
where
architecture,
especially
buildings,
respectforexisting
fabricmeantthatalterations
werecarriedoutin a sympathetic
style.
was fascinated
HenryMordaunt,2nd earl of Peterborough,
by his
in
a
and
Succinct
ancestors,
Genealogies,
genealogical
study
I685 published
ofthemunderthepseudonym
'RobertHalstead'.Thisincludeda series
of plates of horsemenin armour(Fig 16) whichwere repeatedas
overdoors at Drayton House, Peterborough's medieval NorGenealogies

thamptonshireseat which he refersseveraltimesto in Succinct
as 'the old castleat Drayton'.It was in facta fortified

manorhouse,
a
new
butPeterborough
its
castle-air
castellated
by adding
emphasised
gatehousebetweenI66o and 1676 (Fig 17).2 A similarantiquarian
impulsebut on a muchmoremassivescale lay behindHugh May's
of WindsorCastleforCharlesII between1675and 1684.
remodelling
famedforitselaboratebaroqueinteriors
whichcontrasted
Thisis chiefly
or
withMay'sgauntexteriors
markedly
(Fig18).Therewas no stylistic
financialreason-C200,ooo was spenton Windsor-whyMay should
nothavealso designedelaboratebaroquefacades,at leastto theupper
feelbydesigning
ward.2'Insteadhe choseto emphasisetheircastle-like
neo-Normanfeel.There
round-headedwindowswitha deliberately
of thecastle.
was probablymoreto thisthanrespectfortheantiquity
was thatit was theseat oftheOrder
Windsor'sparticular
significance
of the Garter,the oldestof Europe's chivalricorders.Charles II's
was intendedto stressthis,as can be seen fromthefact
remodelling
was St George'sHall,
thatthelargestand mostlavishof theinteriors
of the order.On the outsidethe one
scene of the annual festivities
decorativefeaturewas the monumental
giltGarterstaron the north
association.
air
this
front.
medieval
May's
emphasised chivalric
on theuse of combinedClassicaland Gothicschemesin RenaissanceItalyin Bearers
of
Meaning,
1988.
Cambridge,
by Sir
19Itcouldbe arguedthatthetowersadded to WestwoodPark,Worcestershire,
follows
in theio yearsaftertheCivilWarin a mannerwhichaccurately
JohnPackington
like
the formof the originaldesignof about 1598followsthisinspiration.
Packington
Royalist,and Westwoodwas the home of numerousHigh
Shirleywas a determined
ChurchAnglicansduringtheCivilWar.
Cornforth,
Life,20 May 1965.
'DraytonHouse,Northamptonshire-II',
Country
"'"John
Architecture,
1966,16.
Baroque
KerryDownes,English

113
On a smallerscale HamptonCourt,Herefordshire,
was givena
north
front
and
castellated
between
symmetrical
17o6
1717 by Lord
who was similarly
obsessedwiththe middleages and his
Coningsby,
forebears(Fig i9).2" This can be compared with the Ist earl of Mac-
clesfield's
ofShirburn
betweenI716and
Castle,Oxfordshire,
rebuilding
A
moated
castle
with
four
cornerturrets,
1725(Fig 20). symmetrical
Shirburnis builtarounda medievalcore,but mostof one towerand
all oftwoothers,
withthewallsthatlinkthem,areMacclesfield's
together
Alltheseexamplesarebasedon medievalwork,unlikeClearwell
work.23
which was designedin a similarvein for
Castle, Gloucestershire,
ThomasWyndhamin 1728,buton a virginsite.24
The otherGothicstrandwas dominatedbytheOfficeofWorks.Sir
Wren was the firstEnglishClassicalarchitectto argue
Christopher
thatGothicbuildingsshouldbe completedor repairedin a manner
to theoriginal.The SheldonianTheatrein Oxford,built
sympathetic
in 1663-69,is one of Wren'searliestworks.It is designedin a firm
Classicalmanner,butoppositeitis a doorwaysurmounted
by a Gothic
intothefifteenth-century
Schoolsin 1669,almost
ogee inserted
Divinity
whichWrenwas
certainly
byWren.This is thefirst
signofa principle
later to enunciatewhen asked to completeTom Tower at Christ
Church,Oxfordin 1681(Fig 21), thatit 'oughtto be Gothickto agree
withtheFoundersworke'.25
The DivinitySchool door was the firstin a long seriesof Gothic
works,oftenof remarkableambition,carriedout by Wren and his
colleaguesat the Officeof Works,NicholasHawksmoorand William
Dickinson,togetherwithJohnJames who, while neverholdingan
Officeof Worksposition,was closelyconnectedwithbothWrenand
Hawksmoor.One of the earliestand mostambitiousof thesewas St
in the Cityof London (1681),withshallowdomes
Mary Aldermary
intendedto looklikefanvaulting(Fig22). Here Wren'sGothicdesign
was at the specificrequestof the donorwho specifiedthatthe new
churchbe an exact imitationof what had stood before.This was
followedby St Alban,Wood Street,CityofLondon(1682);designsfor
St Mary's,Warwick,afterthe fireof 1694 (thesewerenot
rebuilding
executedbutthechurchas rebuiltby SirWilliamWilsonwas Gothic);
St Dunstan-in-the-East,
Cityof London,whichwas 'new beautified'
withwindowsand steeple'ofmodernGothic'in 1698;extensive
repairs,
"JohnCornforth,
'HamptonCourt,Herefordshire',
Country
Life,20 and 29 Feb. 1973.
Neo-Medievalism
Mowland BrianEarnshaw,'The OriginsofI8thCentury
'3Timothy
in a GeorgianNormanCastle',Journal
Historians,
oftheSociety
ofArchitectural
XL:4, D639,
Dec. 1981, 289-94.
in TheCountry
24AlistairRowan, 'ClearwellCastle,Gloucestershire',
Seat,ed. H. M.
Colvin andJ. Harris, 1970,
145-49.
'5WrenSociety,Oxford,1928,V, 17.

I14
including rebuildingthe frontof the north transept,at Westminster

Abbey between 1698 and 1722 (Fig 23); the towerof St Christopher-leStocks, City of London (1712); the tower of St Michael, Cornhill,City
of London, begun by Wren in 1715 but completed by Hawksmoor in
1718-22; Hawksmoor'snorthquadrangle of All Souls' College, Oxford,
1716-35 (Fig 24); the west towers at WestminsterAbbey begun by
Hawksmoor in 1735 and completed byJames in 1745; and the repair,
recasing and raising of the tower of St Margaret's, Westminster,by
James in 1735.
Like mostarchitectsthroughoutthe eighteenthcentury,neitherWren
nor his colleagues had any doubts about the superiorityof Classical
architecture.Indeed it was Wren's Classical belief in the need for a
buildingto be uniformthatlay behind his acceptance of Gothic, as he
explained whenputtingforwardplans forthe restorationofWestminster
Abbey in 1713: 'I have made a Design, whichwill not be veryexpensive
but light,and stillin the GothickForm, and of a Stylewiththe restof
the Structure,which I would strictlyadhere to, throughoutthe whole
Intention: to deviate from the old Form, would be to run into a
disagreeableMixture,which no Person of a good Taste could relish...
For all these new Additions I have prepared perfectDraughts and
Models, such as I conceive may agree with the original Scheme of
the old Architect,without any modern Mixtures to shew my own
inventions.,6
JohnJames's commentson Lincoln Cathedral show a similardesire
to remain in keeping. Called in at the same time as James Gibbs in
1726, he suggested'making the heads of all the apertures... with the
pointed angular arch ... afterthe Gothickmanner in which the whole
Church is built [rather]than the semicirculararch as drawn by Mr
Gibbs, and consequentlythe ornamentsabout them of the same style.
For structuralreasons bothJames and Gibbs suggestedremovingthe
spires on the west towers,but James thoughtthat Gibbs's proposed
cupolas would not 'add any beauty, [and] may do great mischief',
suggestinginstead 'thin peramidal acroteria [in the corners],afterthe
Gothick manner'.27
However, when Wren stated that Tom Tower should be Gothic 'to
agree with the Founder's work'2 he was revealinga secondarymotivation on top of the Classical idea of congruity,which fitsclosely with
the antiquarian attitudediscussed above, a historicalrespect for the
founderofthe college. Hawksmoorrepeatedthepointin his explanation
of the designsforAll Souls' in 1715:'I mustask Leave to Say Somthing
6Christopher
Wren,Parentalia,
1750, 302.
7Quotedby TerryFriedman,
JamesGibbs,1984, 199-200.
28
WrenSociety,Oxford,1928,V, 17.

115
in favourof ye Old Quadrangle, builtby your most Revd founder,for

altho this may have Some faultsyet it is not withoutits virtues.This
buildingis Strongand durable much more firmthan any of Your New
buildings,because theyhave not ye Substance nor Workmanship,and
I am Confidentthat much Conveniency and beauty,may be added to
it, wheras utterlydestroyingor barbarously alteringor mangleing it,
wou'd be useing ye founder Cruelly, and a Loss to ye present possessours.'29 In an age when respect for an institutionor a familywas
significantlyenhanced by its antiquity,it is not surprisingthat the
importanceof preservingand enhancingbuildingswhich demonstrated
that antiquitywas to be an importantelement in the use of Gothic
architecturein the eighteenthcenturyas it seems to have been in the
seventeenthcentury.
This OfficeofWorksGothic traditionis oftenseen as a self-contained
episode,30but William Kent's early Gothic work needs to be placed
firmlywithinit. Though Kent's use of Gothic detail may differfrom
that of Wren, Hawksmoor, Dickinson and James-as they do from
each other-the spiritremainsthe same.
Kent, who returnedto England in 1719 and joined the Office of
Works that year, would have been well aware of the extensiveGothic
work, particularlythat in Westminster,of Hawksmoor and James in
the 172os and I730s. His own Gothic work-a gateway in the Clock
Court at Hampton Court (1732), a screen enclosing the Courts of
Chancery and the King's Bench in WestminsterHall (1739), a pulpit
and choir furniture
in York Minster(1741),a choir screen in Gloucester
Cathedral (1741)-shows a similarpatternof alterationsin a sympathetic
manner to ancientroyalor ecclesiasticalbuildings.Indeed JulietAllan's
account of Kent's work at Hampton Court stresseshis debt to Wren's
Tom Tower and suggeststhat Hawksmoor's influencemay also have
been significant.3'
While Kent's role in the mid-eighteenth-century
Gothic Revival has
never been doubted, Hawksmoor's Gothic has always been seen to be
too idiosyncraticto have had much impact. Kent's influencewas in the
main direct,throughthe effectof his work on followerslike Garrett,
Vardy and Paine, but was partlybased on the publicationof a number
of his Gothic schemes inJohn Vardy's SomeDesignsofMr InigoJonesand
Mr WilliamKent(1744). However, Dr Eileen Harris's reassessmentof
Architecture
Restored
andImproved
BattyLangley,authorofAncient
bya Great
Hawksmoor,
'Explanation
ofDesigns
forAll SoulsbyNicholas
Oxford,i960, 5.
inBritain
Architecture
The
Summerson,
3"John
153o-1830, 1977,396; MichaelMcCarthy's
Revival,
Origins
oftheGothic
1987,ignorestheOfficeofWorksGothictradition.
Allan,'New Lighton WilliamKent at HamptonCourtPalace', Architectural
3'Juliet
XXVII (1984),52-3History,

116
newin theGothick
Modefor
Variety
of Grandand Usefull
entirely
Designs,
and Gardens
of Buildings
ornamenting
(1742), the firstbook on Gothic
and one whichwas to be a major sourcefor Gothic
architecture
in
designers the early-eighteenth
century,
suggeststhatLangleywas
inspiredto writethe book by Hawksmoor'swork at Westminster
Abbey.3
Kent'sreal significance
fromWren
lay in theway thathe differed
and Hawksmoorby extendingthe use of Gothicarchitecture
from
and collegiate
to
His
ecclesiastical
domestic
architecture.
work
buildings
at HamptonCourt,Middlesex,whichWrenhad largelyremodelled
in
the 169oswithoutconcernfortheTudorfabric,was thefirst
evidence
ofthis.Kentwas calledto rebuildtheClockCourtrangein 1731,and,
considereda Classical
accordingto Horace Walpole,he too initially
design, only to be prevailed upon by Sir Robert Walpole to work
instead in a Gothic manner.33At about the same time Henry Pelham,
an intimate of Sir Robert Walpole's, approached Kent to design a
house for him at Esher Place, Surrey,which he had bought with its
towerin 1729. Again Kent at firstconsidered
isolated fifteenth-century
a Classical solution,proposing a Palladian house on top of the hill
lookingdown at the tower (Fig 25). He soon changed his mind and in
1733 produced plans in which Gothic wings were added to the tower
(Fig 26).34Kent followedhis domesticwork at Esher withan ambitious
plan for remodellingHoningham Hall, Norfolk,in 1737 forWalpole's
nephew William Townshend, but this was preventedby Townshend's
death the followingyear.35In 1738 Kent was able to begin the slightly
less thorough-going
Gothic remodellingof Rousham Hall, Oxfordshire.
But perhaps the most significantdevelopmentof the Gothic Revival
during the 1730s and 1740s was the fashion for informallylaid out
gardens and parks ornamented with occasional buildings. As such
buildingswere relativelycheap and not restrictedby the need to be
functionalthey encouraged architecturalinvention,and it was chiefly
through this medium that the use of Gothic began to spread and
become a fashionthatwas not restrictedto alterationsof old buildings.
Vanbrughwas a pioneer of thisstyleof gardening,andmade repeated
use of towers and castellationsat Castle Howard, Yorkshire(Fig 27),
Claremont, Surrey (1715),and his own estate at Greenwich (i718 and
1721). Vanbrugh's appreciation of antiquarian feeling is well known
fromhis defence of the old ruins of Woodstock Palace, and is spelled
32EileenHarris,British
BooksandWriters,
Architectural
Cambridge,1990, 267.
33Allen,1984, 51.
andFunctioning
Harris,'WilliamKent and EsherPlace', in TheFashioning
ofthe
34John
British
Hanover,1989,14.
House,ed. GervaseJackson-Stops,
Country
Harris,ThePalladians,
1981,82.
35John

I 17
out in a letterhe wroteto the earl of Manchesterin I707 about his

designsfor KimboltonCastle: 'As to the Outside,I thought'twas
oftheCastleAir,tho'at theSame
best,to giveit Something
absolutely
timeto makeit regular... This methodwas practic'dat Windsorin
Approv'd... to have
King Charles'stime,And has been universally
and whatthe Ordersrequirecou'd never
builta FrontwithPillasters,
have been bornwiththeRestoftheCastle:I'm surethiswillmakea
a kindof
veryNoble and MasculineShew; and is of as Warrantable
as
building Any.',6
The belvedereat Claremontwas probablythe firstin a seriesof
Gothictowersbuiltwithincreasingfrequency
duringthe eighteenth
hill
on
Sometimes
these
gave theimpression
century,
principally
tops.
Castlebuiltby the3rdearl of
ofbeingcompletecastles.Stainborough
in 1728-3oat Wentworth
witha keepand
Strafford
Castle,Yorkshire,
towers,
earlyexamples.Freestanding
baileyis one ofthemostimportant
builtin the1730os
and
likethatat WhittonPlace,Middlesex-probably
more
common.
These
were
before
1748-were
certainly
principally
towers.At
inspiredby medievalcastlesand perhapsbyTudorhunting
least nine examplescan be foundbefore1750. Parallelwith these
towerswerea seriesof buildingswhichlookedratherto ecclesiastical
for theirmodels.Perhapsthe earliestexampleis John
architecture
finishedin 1732(Fig
Freeman'sruin at FawleyCourt,Oxfordshire,
28), while the grandestis James Gibbs's GothicTemple at Stowe,
Buckinghamshire(1741).
Gothicgardenbuildings
werebecomingcommon,but
By the 1740os
thisdecadealso sawincreasedantiquarian
in theuse ofGothic.
interest
The rebuildingof WelbeckAbbey,Nottinghamshire,
by Henrietta
Howard,countessof Oxford,from1742 was a keyexampleof this.
Like lady Anne Clifford,
aware of her
lady Oxfordwas profoundly
as
Horace
noted
after
death:
her
'The
descent,
Walpole
poor woman
who is just dead passed her wholewidowhood... in collectingand
theportraits
and reliquiesof all thegreatfamilies
from
monumenting
whichshe is descended,and whichcentredin her.'Widowedin 1742,
she retiredto her family'sancientseat,whichshe found'in allmost
Ruines',and dedicatedtheremaining
it,
yearsof herlifeto restoring
in
the
Her
Gothic
manner.
of the new dining
principally
description
roomin 1744revealstheimpression
shewas trying
to create:'ye ceiling
is to be paintedwithye armesof myfamily,
and ye marriages
intoit
in proper colours to be hung with full lengthpicturesin cedar
framesthoseyou saw in the diningroomherewithmore,a Gothick
chimneypiecedesigned partlyfroma fineone at Bolsover ...' Horace
Walpolewas ecstatic:'It is impossibleto describethe bales of Cav1977,48.

36KerryDownes, Vanbrugh,

118
endishes,Harleys,Holleses,Veresand Ogles: everychamberis tapestriedwiththem;nay,andwithIoo otherfatmorsels;

all theirinstitutions
all theirarms,crests,devicessculptedon chimneypieces
of
inscribed,
variousEnglishmarblesin ancientforms-mostly
ugly.Then such a
Gothichall,withpendentfretwork
in imitation
of the old and witha
likeminein thelibrary... so muchofeverythingI like,
chimneypiece
thatmypartythoughttheywould neverget me away again.'"3This
was thegreathall,rebuiltin 1751,and a Gothictour-de-force
whichat
thisdatehad no equal (Fig29).
The countessofOxfordwas notalonein herextensive
use ofGothic
a keenantiquary
duringthe1740s.In Essex,ThomasBarrett-Lennard,
who inherited
the ancientDacre baronyfromhis mother,set about
repairingTudor Belhus in 1745. Walpole visitingin 1754 declared that
'whathe has done is in Gothicand verytrue... the chimneypieces

... are all ofa good KingJamestheFirst
exceptone littlemiscarriage
In
Wiston
Sussex,
House, a greatElizabethanmansion,was
Gothic.'"3
reducedin the 1740s-one ofthewingsis dated 1747-and givennew
facadescreatedout of a mixtureof reusedElizabethanmaterialand
but that
Gothicelements.Of theinterior
onlythegreathall survives,
with
was givena vastGothicchimneypiece
and overmantel,
together
In OxfordGothicdoorcasesand niches,all takenfromBattyLangley.39
shire,SandersonMillerremodelledthechapelofWroxtonAbbey,an
house,in theGothicstyleforlord
incomplete
early-seventeenth-century
WarwickCastle
Northin 1747. In Warwickshire,
PhilipYorkevisiting
in 1748 noted that lord Brooke, who had come of age in 1740, had
workto the castleand pickedout particularly

the
done substantial
windowsin the stateapartment'made in the Gothicstyleand very
up, the ceilingof whichis Gothicand
pretty'and the 'chapelfitting
withdifferent
coatsof armsbelongingto thefamily'(Fig
ornamented
and in 1759,
30).40 Brookewas anxiousto stressthe family's
antiquity
claimingcollateraldescentfromthe Beauchampearls of Warwick,
persuadedthekingto createhimearlofWarwickas wellas earlBrooke
withintwo monthsof the death of the last Rich earl of Warwick.
thiswas theworkof Daniel Garrett
Brooke'sbankaccount4'suggests
who also workedin a Gothicmannerforthe 2nd dukeof Cleveland
at Raby Castle,CountyDurham,fromabout1745;remodelled
Kippax
forSirJohnBland,whichDr Pocockenoticedin 1750;41
Park,Yorkshire,
ed. W.S. Lewis,1977,v35, 270-71.
ofHoraceWalpole,
37TheCorrespondence
38ibid.,
I83-84XXVII (1984),241-8.
Architectural
39RogerWhite,'WistonHouse remodelled',
History,
oftheBedfordshire
Greyof WrestPark',Publications
40JoyceGodber,'The Marchioness
XLVII (1968),I38.
Historical
Record
Society,
4'Hoare'sBankS 446.
(ed.),'The Travelsthrough
EnglandofDr RichardPococke',Camden
4'J.J.Cartwright
CXXXI (1888),62.
Society,

I 19
and was probablyresponsibleforthe Gothic chapel at Northumberland

House begun by the duke of Somersetin 1748.
The work at NorthumberlandHouse was finishedby Somerset's
daughter and son-in-lawthe earl (duke from 1766) and countess of
Northumberland who extensivelyremodelled Alnwick Castle, Northumberland,in an exclusivelyGothic fashionfrom1750 (Fig 31). Peter
Waddell's descriptionof the castle in 1785 shows that it was laden with
heraldry.One hundred and ten escutcheonsbearing the arms of the
principal familiesallied with the house of Percy decorated the great
staircase.The duchess's portraitin the diningroom was set in a frame
with the arms of Percy,Lucy, Poynings,Fitpayn,Bryan and Latimer,
while the ceilingwas ornamentedwith coats-of-arms.The arms of the
duke were placed above the breakfastroom chimneypieceand his crest
encircledby the garterabove that in the saloon, while the chapel was
decorated with panels: 'each Pannel round the Chapel has near its
Top, a Coat of Arms,shewingthe severalAlliances withthisgreat and
noble Family; and for the informationof those unacquainted with
Heraldry a Label is affixedto each, on which is inscribedthe Name of
the Family whose arms are above it. The Center pannels are much
largerthan any of the others,and on them are painted Labels shewing
the Descent of thisillustriousFamily in directline fromCharlemaigne,
and theirIntermarriageswith some of the most honourable and noble
Houses of Europe.'
The earl and countesshad good reason forthis.No Percy had lived
in Northumberlandsince the attainder of the 7th earl in 1572, and
indeed the male line had died out with the death of the IIth earl in
1670. Since then the successionhad twice gone throughthe femaleline
to the countesswhose husband, thougha substantialYorkshirebaronet,
was the great-grandsonof a London haberdasher. By returningto
Alnwick,rebuildingthe castle in a Gothic manner and covering the
interiorwith heraldry,the Northumberlandswere glossing over the
recentruptureand reassertingtheirlinkswith the medieval Percies.43
Thus by the time of the buildingbook which followedthe peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748,interestin Gothic architecturewas spreading.
It was to cash in on this that Batty Langley'sAncient
Architecture
Revived
had been publishedin 1742.Only at thisrelativelylate date did Horace
Walpole become interestedin the style,writingto his friendHorace
Mann thathe was goingto build 'a littleGothic castle'. Mann's response
in January 1750 was not sympathetic:'Why will you make it Gothic? I
know it is the taste at present,but I am reallysorryforit.'"4Thus even
Mann in Italy was aware that Walpole was no prophet of a new style.
'AlnwickCastle,Northumberland-II'
43GilesWorsley,
Life,8 Dec. 1988.
Country
ofHorace Walpole,i96o, I19.
44W.S. Lewis, The Correspondence

120
he did help to populariseit by buildingthefirstGothic

Nevertheless,
housewithineasyreachofLondon.He also helpedto developit from
being a purelyantiquarianstyleassociatedwith old buildings,for
Hill was effectively
a new house. But Walpolewas only
Strawberry
able to getawaywithbuildinga GothichousebecauseStrawberry
Hill
was a suburbanvilla. SandersonMiller'ssuggestion
thatSir George
rebuildHagleyHall, Worcestershire,
to a Gothicdesignin
Lyttelton
1752was quicklysquashedand a standardPalladiangreathousewas
builtinstead.45
Gothicwas not considereda suitablestylefora new
woulddo. Similarly,
whenMillerdesigned
seat,onlya Classicalbuilding
the new shirehall at Warwickin 1754therewas no suggestion
that
Gothicwould be an appropriatestylefora public building,and a
handsomeClassicalfacadewasbuiltinstead.AsWalpolewrotetoMann,
'The Grecianis properonlyformagnificent
and publicbuilding.'46
It
wouldbe anotherthreedecadesbeforetheworkofarchitects
likeJames
Gothicas a styleequal in itsownrightto Classicism.
Wyattestablished
But by 1748Gothicdesignhad been acceptedas a respectable
way
of completing
earlierecclesiastical
and collegiatebuildings,
partlyout
ofarchitectural
partlyoutofantiquarian
propriety,
respect.It was seen
as an appropriateway to alterolderhouses,particularly
by owners
anxiousto stresstheantiquity
of theirline,and as a suitablestylefor
gardenbuildingsintendedto give a frissonof romance.Did it have
This certainly
seemsto have been the opinionof
politicalovertones?
an anonymous author in the Gentleman's
Magazine in 1739: 'Methinks
therewas something
Respectablein thoseold hospitableGothicHalls,
and SwordsofourAncestors,
hungroundwithHelmets,Breast-Plates
I enteredthemwitha Constitutional
Sort of Reverenceand look'd
Ministers
as a Terrorofformer
and
upon thoseArmeswithGratitude
the Check of Kings ... Our old Gothic Constitution
had a noble
and simplicity
aboutit,whichwas wellenoughrepresented
strength
by
theboldArchesand thesolidpillarsoftheEdificesofthosedays.And
I have not observedthatthe modernRefinements
in eitherhave in
the least added to theirStrength
and Solidity.'47
viscount
Similarly,
Molesworthobservedin the prefaceof the 1721 editionof Franco-Gallia:
FreeStateofFrance,andMostother
PartsofFrance;
or,an Account
oftheAncient
theLoss of theirLiberties:
a 'real Whig is one who is exactly for
before
ofthetrueold GothickConstitution
... A
keepingup to theStrictness
trueWhigis of Opinion,thattheExecutivePowerhas as just a Title
to theAllegianceand ObedienceoftheSubject,accordingto theRules
1987,116.
45McCarthy,
46Walpole SocietyXX, 127.
and
Sources
47Gentleman's
Literary
Magazine1739,641.Quoted by Paul Frankl,TheGothic:
EightCenturies,
Princeton,
ig6o, 381.
Interpretations
through

121
of knownLaws enacted by the Legislative,as the Subject has to

Protection,
Libertyand Property.'48
At firstsighttheremightseem to be such a politicalconnection.
Gibbs'sGothictempleat Stowewas knownas theTempleof Liberty,
and in 1732GilbertWestdescribedtheSaxon deitieswhichsurrounded
it as 'Gods, of a Nation,valient,wise,and free,/Who conquer'dto
To whoseauspiciousCare Britainnia
establishLiberty!/
owes/Those
Laws, on whichshe stands,by whichshe rose.' However,as Gibbs's
biographerTerryFriedmannotes,thisassociatebetweenthe Gothic
In architectural
was unusual.49
termsif
styleand the themeof liberty
therewas a stylewhichsuggested
at thisdateitwas Classicismliberty
thestyleofKent'sproposedfortheHousesofParliament-notGothic.
The politicalovertonesof the Gothic Revival were dynastic,not
constitutional.
48Quotedin Friedman,1984,197.
49Ibid.

122
"
ed
II,
I
C~s,
?a,
E
?N
~rt
x,
S
c,
i~t"

123
a markedly
staircase
House,Northamptonshire,
of156oatBurghley
Figz-The Chapel
Classical
design

124
atBurghley
backtoearlyTudorarchitecture
House,harking
Fig3-The west
front

overtones
hasstrong
medieval
which
Hall at Burghley
Fig4-The Great

125
sonThoma
andcrenellations
addedbyLordBurghley's
withtowers
Yorkshire,
Fig5-Snape Castle,

127
withRobert
Fig6-The courtyard
Castle,Wiltshire,
pure
Smythson's
ofOld Wardour
Classicaldooraddedin thei57os

ina sympathetic
med
Castlerefenestrated
front
ofOld Wardour
Fig7-The entrance

windows
atLincoln
Oxford,
of1629-31withitsPerpendicular
College,
Fig8-The Chapel

builtbyLadyAnneClifford
toa Gothic
theCommonw
Ninekirk,
Fig9-St Jinian's,
design
during

toitsoriginal
restored
at Skipton
Castle,
Yorkshire,
byLadyAnne
Figio--Themaingateway
height

132
as a
Staunton
builtbySirRobert
Leicestershire,
Harold,
Shirley
Fig I--Holy Trinity,
in1653
statement
Royalist

ORIGINS
OF GOTHIC
REVIVAL
Hall ofLambeth
rebuilt
Palace,London,
Figi2-The Great
usingGothic
by
motifs
Archbishop
Juxonin1660-63

I33
I34
TRANSACTIONS
OF THE
ROYAL
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
Gothicmanner
in an essentially
commissioned
by
Fzgi3-The fontofDurhamCathedral,
BishopCosinin 1663-65

remodelled
County
Auckland,
Durham,
byBishopCosinwh
FigI4-The Chapelat Bishop

Auckland
withGothic
woodwork
addedbyBishopCosi
oftheChapelatBishop
Fig15-The interior

ORIGINS
OF GOTHIC
REVIVAL
137
at Drayton
ancestors
showing
oftheEarl ofPeterborough
Fg i6--One oftheoverdoors
Hall,Northamptonshire

in
atDrayton
addedthecrenellated
gatehouse
Figi7--The EarlofPeterborough

remodelled
Castle,
Berkshire,
byHughMayin1675-84usi
Figi8-The UpperWardofWindsor

wasgiven
a symmetrical
castellated
front
Herefordshire,
byLordConingsb
Fig19-HamptonCourt,

rebuilt
in1716-25
Castle,
bytheEarlofMacclesfield
Oxfordshire,
Fig2o--Shirburn

142
Wren'toagree
Christ
Church,
Oxford,
completed
bySirChristopher
Fig21-TomTower,
withtheFounder's
work'ini68i

i43
and most
Fig 22-St MagyAldermary,
CityofLondon,ofI681, oneof Wren'searliest
ambitious
Gothic
designs

TRANSACTIONS
144
OF THE
ROYAL
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
!,o
.
....
......
8
>
:
,i!,i
rim
......
?:?t
.............
in1719
thenorth
transept
ofWestminster
forremodelling
Abbey
Fig23-DesignbyWren

145
Hawksmoor
andbuilt
Oxford,
designed
byNzicholas
from1716
Fig24-All Soul'sCollege,
to1735

Classical
scheme
belo
initial
withthemedieval
tower
forEsherPlace,Surrey,
Fig25-WilliamKent's

at Esher
tower
thei5th-century
forextending
Fig26-Kent's1733Gothic
design
castlewallsat CastleHoward,
Fig27-Vanbrugh's
Yorkshire

147
148
ruinatFawleyCourt,
builtbefore
Oxfordshire,
I732 byJohnFreeman
Fig28--TheGothic
Hall at Welbeck
builtbytheCountess
Abbey,
Nottinghamshire,
of
Fig29-The Great
in1751
Oxford

149
at Warwick
corridor
Warwickshire,
Castle,
partofa Gothic
remodelling
Fzg3o--TheGothic
carriedoutby1748

rebuilt
ina Gothic
manner
Northumberland,
bytheEarlandCountess
Fig3I-AlnwickCastle,
ofNo


The Origins of Gothic Revival

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The Origins of Gothic Revival

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The Origins of the Gothic Revival: A Reappraisal: The Alexander Prize Essay

Author(s): Giles Worsley

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THE ORIGINS OF THE GOTHIC REVIVAL: A

FOR the past 40 years the dominantinfluenceover architectural

This content downloaded from 192.100.192.114 on Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:38:30 PM

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

the Officeof Worksis acknowledged

but thisincipientRenaissanceappearsto have petered

man in ElizabethanEngland.The earlywork

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

the manor house at Snape in Yorkshire.As if to stressthis link

ofSnape Castlemakesan interesting

This content downloaded from 192.100.192.114 on Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:38:30 PM

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ticular,whichwas builton thesiteofa genuinecastle,has a markedly

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chapel of Lincoln(1629-31)(Fig 8), the chapel

9Howard Colvin, UnbuiltOxford,

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wanted.'o Instead she wished to stressthe antiquityof the Cliffordline

and its connectionswith the great familiesof medieval England, the

This content downloaded from 192.100.192.114 on Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:38:30 PM

ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

orderedthatthe windowsof his new staircasetower

'sThis mixedstylewas notconfinedto England.An interesting

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was builtin 1685-89

overdoors at Drayton House, Peterborough's medieval NorGenealogies

as 'the old castleat Drayton'.It was in facta fortified

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

This content downloaded from 192.100.192.114 on Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:38:30 PM

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

including rebuildingthe frontof the north transept,at Westminster

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

in favourof ye Old Quadrangle, builtby your most Revd founder,for

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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

out in a letterhe wroteto the earl of Manchesterin I707 about his

Walpolewas ecstatic:'It is impossibleto describethe bales of Cav1977,48.

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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

endishes,Harleys,Holleses,Veresand Ogles: everychamberis tapestriedwiththem;nay,andwithIoo otherfatmorsels;

'whathe has done is in Gothicand verytrue... the chimneypieces

workto the castleand pickedout particularly

This content downloaded from 192.100.192.114 on Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:38:30 PM

ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

and was probablyresponsibleforthe Gothic chapel at Northumberland

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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

he did help to populariseit by buildingthefirstGothic

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

of knownLaws enacted by the Legislative,as the Subject has to

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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC REVIVAL

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