Victorian/Gothic Revival

Victorian/Gothic Revival

The gothic revival was at its peak of popularity during the 1840’s – 1860’s mostly in churches nationwide till the 1940’s.The gothic revival period can be visibly identified by its style and way of structure the architecture was full of decorative patterns, scalloping, windows, hood, and labels. Mostly the style was used in churches to impress and reflect the power of the Christian religion. In the Victorian era gothic became a vehicle for a new awaking for social the social cons ions .At that time the industrial revolution was  at its peak a lot of new technology was being used and time was changing. Manchester was a market town but in fifty years everything changed all thanks to cotton. Manchester’s population increased by the day, people were suffering and lived till 26 years. 

Gothic Revival Characteristics 

Children of Victorian era

It was a condition that had to be dealt with. Industrial cities never existed before so no one knew how to deal with the situation it caused. Slums and un hygienic and few area to live in was a big issue at that time. The only option to boost the moral the Victorians looked at the past to reflect on the architecture of the past which changed most of the architecture in Britain. One man that started an architectural revolution was Augustus Pugin. His vision was to focus on the medieval architectural ages .He sketched a lot of ideas from the view of history to be used in the 19th centaury. he idealized the ideology of the medieval ages. He wanted architecture to be a social force.

Gothic Furniture

Another  dedicated man how had the same vision as Pugin's to improve architecture was Walter Farquhar Hook. He became vicar of Saint Peters and what he did is remodeled the church in Gothic Style .Which he even paid from his own salary .The church was full of ornaments which represent the gothic revival. It was a very important building at that time for the Victorian architecture. It attracted a lot of crowds. Hooks church example was made a lot of good at that time. He even opened schools for education which did a lot of good for the social community .

The palace of Westminster was another example of the Gothic revival architecture after it caught fire the place turned into a wreck. Which pushed the idea to build a new Palace and the style was was Gothic. While the Palace was being built Pugin didn’t like the way it was being constructed. He wanted to customize the idea of the Gothic .he wanted to make it fire proof which Pugin added steel roofs and pillars. Gothic became a national style in Britain in influenced a big part of British History.

The palace of Westminster 

John Ruskin was another obsessed medievalist. He was interested in the architecture of the medieval ages .he was a writer and a critic on architecture. He went to Vienna with his wife but unfortunately he was more interested in the architecture then his wife .He wrote books to embrace the Gothic style unlike Pugin which he was more interested in Churces.He added more value to the style.

Gothic design and style invites individual interoperation. Over a hundred years passed but the architecture of the Gothic revival lives forever. It influenced everything in those times..

What I liked about the Gothic Style is the way they used the past architecture to combine it with that age and to boost the moral of the societies of that time. The architecture can be identified easily and it had a unique look that sometimes gives you the chills.

Gothic Church

Referencing:

Gothic Revival.

Gothic Revival architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. Gothic Revival architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Revival_architecture. [Accessed 23 January 2015].

Gothic Revival | Architecture, Landscape, and Urban Design. 2015. Gothic Revival | Architecture, Landscape, and Urban Design. [ONLINE] Available at: http://architecturestyles.org/gothic-revival/. [Accessed 23 January 2015].

YouTube. 2015. YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/. [Accessed 23 January 2015].

Gothic Revival | architectural style | Encyclopedia Britannica. 2015. Gothic Revival | architectural style | Encyclopedia Britannica. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239789/Gothic-Revival. [Accessed 23 January 2015].