Gothic revival

With its tall, looming lines and intricate facades, the gothic style was as relevant and attractive
then as it was in its original period between the 12th and 16th century.

Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture is always easy to identify. Buildings of this style often
have high pitched roofs or spires, tall, narrow windows coming to a point at the top, exposed wood
structural beams, and cross hatched decorative patterns.

Gothic style quickly spread across Europe, and was developed over several centuries, with the last
high profile example being the Chapel at Westminster, built by Henry VII in the early 16th century.

Gothic architecture never died out completely, but resurfaced less frequently between the 16th and
19th centuries, while post renaissance styles were popularized.

The literature of the 19th century helped as much as anything to revive interest in the middle ages,
as authors like Horace Walpole began to celebrate the period in their works.
While the style re-emerged largely unchanged, it was now being applied to smaller structures like
homes and commercial buildings, as well as in traditional settings.

• The term "Gothic Revival" (sometimes called Victorian Gothic) usually refers to the period
of mock-Gothic architecture practiced in the second half of the 19th century.

• That time frame can be a little deceiving, however, for the Gothic style never really died
in England after the end of the medieval period. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries,
when classical themes ruled the fashion-conscious world of architecture, Gothic style can
be seen, if intermittently. This is because many architects were asked to remodel medieval
buildings in a way that blended in with the older styles.

• In the late 18th century, running in parallel, as it were, with raging classicism, was a school
of romanticized Gothic architecture, popularized by Batty Langley's pattern books of
medieval details. This medieval style was most common in domestic building, where the
classical style overwhelmingly prevailed in public buildings.

• The Gothic Revival was driven by practical as well as aesthetic concerns. Gothic buildings
are less expensive than classical ones (due to the sheer amount of masonry required for a
temple front) and allow for more flexible layouts (since classical symmetry and balanced
proportions can be ignored). These advantages contributed to the adoption of the Neogothic
style for churches and administrative buildings.
 • One of the prime movers of a new interest in Gothic style was Horace Walpole.

• Even Robert Adam, the master of neo-classical country house architecture, used Gothic
elements, for example at Culzean Castle, where the exterior crenellation recalls a medieval
fortress.

• James Wyatt was the most prominent 18th century architect employing Gothic style in
many of his buildings. His Ashridge Park (Hertfordshire), begun in 1806, is the best
surviving example of his work. At Ashridge, Wyatt employed a huge central hall, open to
the roof, in conscious imitation of a medieval great hall.

• The greatest example of authentic Gothic Revival is the Palace of Westminster

Identifiable Features

1. Pointed arches as decorative element and as window shape

2. Front facing gables with decorative incised trim (vergeboards or bargeboards)

3. Porches with turned posts or columns

4. Steeply pitched roof

5. Gables often topped with finials or cross bracing

6. Decorative crowns (gable or drip mold) over windows and door

7. Castle-like towers with parapets on some high style buildings

8. Carpenter Gothic buildings have distinctive board and batten vertical siding

Westminster Palace

In its authentic phase, Gothic Revival became widely used for churches and public buildings
throughout the West, especially in England and the United States. The Church of England erected
hundreds of Neogothic churches, in addition to restoring many original structures. The foremost
Gothic Revival monument of Britain is Westminster Palace (the Houses of parliament), by
Charles Barry.

The remains of the Old Palace (with the

exception of the detached Jewel Tower) were
incorporated in its much larger replacement,
which contains over 1,100 rooms organised
symmetrically around two series of
courtyards. Part of the New Palace's area of
3.24 hectares (8 acres) was reclaimed from the Thames, which is the setting of its principal façade,
the 266-metre (873 ft) river front.

Barry was assisted by Augustus W. N. Pugin, a leading authority on Gothic architecture and style,
who provided designs for the
decoration and furnishings of the
Palace. Layout of the principal floor
(north is to the right). The debating
chambers of the two Houses and their
ante-rooms lie on opposite sides of the
Central Lobby and are part of the
central spine of the Palace, which
includes the suite of ceremonial rooms
to the south. The Victoria Tower
occupies the south-west corner and the Speaker's House takes up the north-east corner; the Clock
Tower is at the far north and Westminster Hall protrudes to the west.

The Palace of Westminster contains over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 kilometers of
passageways, which are spread over four floors. The ground floor is occupied by offices, dining
rooms and bars; the first floor (known as the principal floor) houses the main rooms of the
Palace, including the debating chambers, the lobbies and the libraries. The top -two floors are
used as committee rooms and offices. The design and layout of the building were thus carefully
designed to serve the needs and workings of Parliament

In his design, Barry was also concerned to balance the horizontal (which he emphasised with
continuous bands of panelling) with the vertical (which he marked with turrets that ended high
above the walls). He also introduced steeply-pitched iron roofs which emphasised the Palace's
lively skyline. His Gothic scheme for the new Palace also extended to its interior furnishings,
such as wallpapers, carvings, stained glass and even the royal thrones and canopies.

The Victoria Tower is the tallest tower in the Palace of Westminster. Named after Queen Victoria,
it was for many years the tallest and largest stone square tower in the world, with a height of 98.5
metres (325 feet).

The tower was originally designed as a royal entrance and a repository for the records of
Parliament, and is now home to the Parliamentary Archives.

On top of the tower is an iron flagstaff. From here either the Royal Standard (if the Sovereign is
present in the Palace) or the Union flag is flown.
Big Ben:

Big Ben is the bell in the Clock Tower (People often use "Big Ben" for the name
of the clock tower itself). The bell was cast in 1858 and is said to be named
either after the Commissioner of Works at the time, Benjamin Hall, or the
champion heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt. The note from the bell is E. Big Ben
weighs 13.8 tons

Strawberry Hill House, London

• The Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham, London by Horace
Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward.

• Walpole rebuilt the existing house in stages starting in 1749, 1760, 1772 and 1776.

• These added Gothic features such as towers and battlements outside and elaborate
decoration inside to create "gloomth" to suit Walpole's collection of antiquarian objects,
contrasting with the more cheerful or "riant“ garden.

• In stages, Walpole rebuilt the house to his own specifications, giving it a Gothic style and
expanding the property to 46
acres (190,000 m2) over the
years.

• Looked at many examples of

architecture in England and in
other countries, adapting such
works as the chapel
at Westminster Abbey built by
Henry VII for inspiration for
the fan vaulting of the gallery

• He incorporated many of the

exterior details of cathedrals
into the interior of the house.
Externally there seemed to be
two predominant styles 'mixed';
a style based on castles with
turrets and battlements, and a
style based on Gothic
cathedrals with arched
windows and stained glass.