Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival was one of the most distinctive housing styles of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sometimes called Victorian Gothic, Mock Gothic or Neo-Gothic, it began as a style for huge public buildings, like the Houses of Parliament, whose scale lent itself to the style. It was a re-interpretation of the Gothic style that had been used for churches, universities in early medieval times. It emerged at a time when the Victorians were becoming bored of Classical styles and were looking for a return to a simpler age. However, its beautiful, delicate lines and details were soon being used for houses and domestic architecture.

Gothic Revival was a style that rediscovered the beauty of the ogee shaped window and brought it into our homes. In its early iterations Gothic Revival houses were light and airy with white stucco walls, delicately pointed arches, stained-glass windows and elaborate stone carving. Eventually, however, as the word 'Gothic' began to be associated with dark and macabre themes in literature, architects began to include heavy gables and gargoyles, turrets and heavy polychrome brickwork. Gothic houses became associated with the dark 'gothick' of Victorian melodrama and literature.

The level of detail and ornament required in Gothic Revival made it an expensive style to build in, so wasn’t a style that was adopted for mass housing but was more about wealthy individuals and their personal taste. It has left a legacy of large family houses around British cities but not much in the way of mass produced housing. The style is most often discussed through the works of architects such as Augustus Pugin who, together with Charles Barry, rebuilt the Houses of Parliament after they were burnt down in 1834, and George Gilbert Scott, who created the Grand Hotel in front of St Pancras station.

Its main, early cheerleader was the writer and art critic John Ruskin. His inspiration for a re-launch of the Gothic style started with a critique of Classical architecture (which he hated) in his book, 'The Stones of Venice'. His chapter 'The Nature of Gothic' had a huge impact on Victorian society, and linked early Gothic architecture to a simpler time of honest artisans with timeless building skills. As well as a clarion call for the rediscovery of Gothic architecture, the book plugged into the wider Arts and Crafts movement being developed by the socialist writer, designer and architect William Morris.

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