BOME

Medieval-Gothic Architecture

The gothic revival in England took shape during the Victorian Era. Partly as a resistence against the increasingly present modern architecture of the time, and partly as a return to a singular British identity, the period of gothic revival in London saw the construction of numerous new churches and expansions to universities. Fueled by the efforts of such groups as the Ecclesiological Society, the gothic revival was aimed at bringing back what many people felt to be the heart and true origins of London’s identity: its gothic buildings.
The return to gothic architecture also meant the return to many of the values held during the original period of the gothic, namely intellectualism and religion. As such, the gothic style was mainly reserved for use only in the construction of new churches and in the construction of new school buildings. Schools such as Cambridge and Oxford, as well as London’s own Kings College, used gothic architecture when expanding their facilities, and then-new churches which were built in the middle of an ever-growing London also utilized the imposing architecture in order to conform to revitalized ideals of religion.
Two pioneers of the combination of gothic revival architecture with more utilitarian approaches were Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. Deane and Woodward attempted to use modern materials, mainly steel, in unconventional ways. These unconventional ways included the use of steel in making gothic style arches, a style previously reserved for masonry. An example of one of their use of steel in such a way can be seen in the structure of the Oxford Museum at Oxford University.

The Interior and Exterior of the Oxford Museum,
Oxford University

Images from The University of Oklahoma

One oppositionist to the modernist movement in architecture was John Ruskin. Ruskin was an ardent supporter of social reform and progressivism, yet he was a major conservative in when it came to art and architecture. He strongly believed that while form should fit function, architectural styles of the past should be recreated using the "proper" materials, which depended on the style of the building. In the case of gothic architecture, masonry was the only proper material. The use of steel to make gothic structures was looked down upon, especially if there was no attempt to hide the fact that steel was used. The Oxford Museum by Deane and Woodward serves as a perfect example of what John Ruskin would and did deem inappropriate.

William Butterfield too was opposed to the notion of combining modern materials and past architectural styles. As a member of the Ecclesiological Society, Butterfield was a strong traditionalist. He spent most of his career designing and constructing churches, all of which were strictly designed in typical traditionalist fashion. Masonry was the tool by which Butterfield built his churches, and he would have it no other way. One of Butterfields crowning achievements was the All Saints Margaret Street church, in which all ideals vocalized by both Butterfield and Ruskin are materialized. The church’s structure was composed of stone, and the building in general was modeled in the High Victorian Gothic style.

All Saints Margaret Street Cathedral
Courtesy of The Mystery Worshipper

Deane and Woodward successfully created a facade of traditional architecture yet ultimately failed in creating an interior which masked the modern materials. The inside of the Oxford Museum is a mess of mangled steel shaped in a way that it was not originally intended to be shaped in. Despite the aesthetics of the gothic steel, the form of the building helps its function. The steel girders guarantee support for the building, and as steel is much stronger than masonic materials, less of it needs to be used, thus allowing for more space, an implicit necessity when it comes to creating academic buildings in particular.

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