1.5.george gilbert scott

7/28/2019 1.5.George Gilbert Scott

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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 stationMain 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 (184556), Charles Buckeridge (1856

57), Somers Clarke (1865), William Henry Crossland (?), C. Hodgson Fowler (185660), 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 buildingsWorkhouse 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 buildingsSt 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. RestorationsScott 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. CathedralsEly Cathedral (184778)

Gloucester Cathedral (185476)

The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral

- 4.4.2. Abbeys, Priories and Collegiate ChurchesSt. Mary's, Stafford (184245)

Beverley Minster (1844) (186668) & (1877)

- 4.4.3. Other Restoration workSt 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 theCathedral 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.

1.5.george gilbert scott

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