GothicRevival
Palace of Westminster London -- 1870
01
Context of the Project
We may have all heard of the Gothic style, but did you know there's another architectural style called Gothic Revival architecture?
Based on analysis of photographic data uploaded to the Wiki Loves Monuments, we found that 23 different architectural styles were represented in Scotland, with Gothic Revival architecture being the most geographically extensive (10 counties) and the longest prevailing style, dating back to the 18th century and popular throughout the mid-19th century, arguably a typical architectural style in the Scottish region.
As a result, we created this web page in the hope that people interested in cultural heritage or architectural styles will follow our lead and explore the mysteries of Gothic revival architecture. The pages are divided into an overview of the Gothic Revival, its historical development and geographical distribution, as well as the influence of the Gothic Revival. (The images and other data are mostly sourced from Wikidata. )
Now, Are you ready to get your goth on?
02
What is Gothic Revival?
Gothic revival architecture is most readily identified by its intricate decorative elements such as porches, dormers, or roof gables and a plethora of pointed arches which consist of windows, doors and decorative features. Other distinguishing features include steeply pitched roofs and front gables with elaborate wooden decorations called vergeboards or bargeboards.
Gothic Revival buildings often have porticoes with ornamental turns or slender columns and side support with flat arches or connecting columns. Flying buttresses are an ordinary part of forming the soaring ceilings in this style. Gothic Revival churches have not only pointed arched windows and porticoes but also often look like a Norman castle-like tower with jagged balustrades or tall spires.
Tall Spire
Cross
Quaterfoil
Pointed Arch
Cluster Column
--Hover the hallmark of the Gothic Revival--
03
The Development of Gothic Revival
--A timeline of the years in which Scottish Gothic revival buildings were built--
1.3%
18.7%
63%
1750~1800
1800~1850
1850~1900
15.5%
1900~1950
1.5%
1950~2000
Inception
1740s
Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that started in the late 1740s in England. In the early 19th century, Gothic Revival architecture became one of the main weapons in the high church movement. As "industrialisation" progressed, a reaction against machine production and the appearance of factories also grew. Gothic Revival was a sort of love note to older times and was supported by those who were against this industrial shift.
Prosperity
1800s ~ 1880s
As it had kept attracting attention in England during the first half of the 19th century, its influence spread to the rest of Europe, Australia, Africa, and the Americas. By the middle of the 19th century, Gothic had achieved dominance in the field of architecture in the Western world.
Fade
1880s~1890s
In the 1880s and early 1890s, it had been replaced by other architectural movements, and by the 1930s the architecture of the Victorian era was generally condemned or ignored. By the late 19th century, new building materials and construction methods place more emphasis on function rather than adornment. Fancifully adorned towers and elaborate detailing were no longer the focus. Because of this, Gothic revival architecture faded away.
04
Walking through
Gothic Revival heritages with us
Here are three maps of Scotland's 3 largest cities
Hover " " on the map to read the story of that Gothic Revival monument
St Andrew's Cathedral is the see of the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney. The cathedral is known as being the church where the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Samuel Seabury was ordained in 1784. The original building was designed in the perpendicular Gothic style by the architect Archibald Simpson.
St Andrew's Cathedral --1817
St Peter's Roman Catholic Church--1817
Located on Justice Street, the heart of Aberdeen City Centre, Scotland, St Peter’s Church was the first permanent Roman Catholic Church to be built in Aberdeen after the Reformation with its foundations laid in 1803.
Aberdeen’s hidden gem, this is the oldest catholic church in Aberdeen. Designed by James Massie, 1803-4; gallery added 1815 and façade finished 1817 by Harry Leith.
Marischal College --1835
Marischal College is the second largest granite building in the world on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long-term lease from the University of Aberdeen, which still uses parts of the building to store its museum collections. Today, it provides corporate office space and public access to
council services,
adjacent to the
Town House,
the city's historic seat
of local government.
Many Aberdonians
consider Marischal
College to be an icon
of the "Granite City" and to symbolise the zenith of Aberdeen's granite-working industry.
Aberdeen
Except for the spire St. Mary's was completed and dedicated on 21st December 1860 under a great priest William Stopani. St. Mary's became a cathedral in the strict sense only when the Hierarchy of Scotland was re-established in 1878 and a true diocese of Aberdeen replaced the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District of Scotland. From now on Aberdeen had a Bishop instead of a Vicar-Apostolic and a cathedral instead of a parish church.
St Mary's Cathedral --1860
The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, commonly known as St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Anglican Scottish Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its foundation stone was laid in Palmerston Place, in the city's West End, on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and the building was consecrated on 30 October 1879.
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral is the see of the Bishop of Edinburgh, one of seven bishops within the Scottish Episcopal Church which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
It was designed in a Victorian Gothic revival style by architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. It has attained Category A listed building status, and is part of the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh World Heritage Site. The cathedral is one of only three in the United Kingdom that feature three spires, the other two being Lichfield and Truro cathedrals. The main spire is 90 metres tall, making the building the tallest in the Edinburgh urban area. The other two spires were completed in 1917. The Song School and the Chapter House were also added in later years.
St Mary's Cathedral --1879
Gillis Centre, formerly Gillis College and founded as St Margaret's Convent and School, is a complex of buildings situated close to the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. The history of the site can be traced back to the 15th century. The original building housed many literary figures of the eighteenth century, from 1834 it served as a convent and from 1986 to 1993 it was Gillis College, the seminary for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. It currently provides offices for the Curia of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
Gillis Centre --1863
The Chapel of St Mary's was opened in 1814, and was originally designed by James Gillespie Graham. The church was considerably embellished over the years, and in 1878 on the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy it became the pro-cathedral of the new Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. It was renamed the Metropolitan Cathedral on 5 July 1886 with all the rights and privileges appertaining to such a church. It contains the National Shrine of St. Andrew.
Pope John Paul II visited St Mary's in May 1982 as part of his pastoral visit to Scotland.
St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral --1886
The Chapel of St Mary's was opened in 1814, and was originally designed by James Gillespie Graham. The church was considerably embellished over the years, and in 1878 on the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy it became the pro-cathedral of the new Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. It was renamed the Metropolitan Cathedral on 5 July 1886 with all the rights and privileges appertaining to such a church. It contains the National Shrine of St. Andrew.
Pope John Paul II visited St Mary's in May 1982 as part of his pastoral visit to Scotland.
Edinburgh
Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church --1902
Kelvinbridge Parish Church, also known as the Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church, is a Church of Scotland parish church, serving part of the North Kelvinside area of Glasgow, Scotland. The church is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow.
St Mary's Cathedral --1893
The Cathedral Church of
St Mary the Virgin (Scottish
Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais
Naomh Moire), commonly
called St Mary's Cathedral,
is a cathedral of the Scottish
Episcopal Church. It is located
on the Great Western Road,
in the west end of Glasgow,
Scotland. The current building
was opened on 9 November
1871 as St Mary's Episcopal
Church and was completed in 1893 when the spire was completed. The architect was Sir Gilbert Scott. It was raised to cathedral status in 1908. The total height of the cathedral is 63 metres. The church structure is protected as a category A listed building.
Glasgow
St Columba Church of Scotland --1904
The Church of Scotlandcongregation
of St Columba in Glasgow dates back
to 1770. It was established to cater for
the spiritual needs of the large number
of Gaelic speakers from the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland settling in
Glasgow in search of employment.
The church still has a service in Gaelic
every Sunday, as well as weekly services
in English.
Shortly before leaving Scotland to
to South Africa in 1903, the poet Duncan Livingstone carved the inscription Tigh Mo Chridhe, Tigh Mo Gràidh ("House of My Heart, House of My Love") on the lintel of the main door of the church.
It was designed by architects Tennant and Burke and is now protected as a category B listed building. Because of its size and association with Gaeldom and the Gaelic language it is also popularly known as the Highland Cathedral.
St Andrew's Cathedral --1816
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew or Glasgow Metropolitan Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow. The cathedral, which was designed in 1814 by James Gillespie Graham in the Neo Gothic style, lies on the north bank of the River Clyde in Clyde Street. St Andrew's Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow, currently William Nolan. It is dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew.
St Mungo's Church, Glasgow --1877
St Mungo's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish Church in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built in 1841, with later work done on the church in 1877, and designed by George Goldie. It is situated on the corner of Parson Street and Glebe Street, east of St Mungo's Catholic Primary School and west of the Springburn Road. It was founded by the Passionists, is a Gothic Revival church and is a category B listed building.
05
How does Gothic Revival
impacts Western?
The Gothic Revival movement was all the rage, not only spawning great buildings we talked before that people could visit and see in real life, but also influencing every level of society, from what people wore to the literature they read, as well as the structure of the park benches they sat on. Alice's ability to fall down the rabbit hole into a dream world, an office place for the British government, as well as the craze for teenagers to apply the garish eyeliner of goth makeup, are some of the effects of the Gothic Revival, many of which still live on today.
We have prepared a hand-painted book
of different buildings,
try to paint the Gothic Revival building with your favorite colors!
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