High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promoted and derived from the works of the architect and theorist

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

, though it eventually diverged, it is sometimes referred to as Ruskinian Gothic. It is characterised by the use of

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

(multi-colour) decoration, "use of varying texture" and Gothic details. The architectural scholar

James Stevens Curl James Stevens Curl (born 26 March 1937)Contemporary Authors, vols. 37–40, ed. Ann Every, Gale/Cengage Learning, 1979, p. 110 is an architectural historian, architect, and author with an extensive range of publications to his name. Early life an ...

describes it thus: "Style of the somewhat harsh polychrome structures of the Gothic Revival in the 1850s and 1860s when Ruskin held sway as the arbiter of taste. Like High Gothic, it is an unsatisfactory term, as it poses the question as to what is 'Low Victorian'. 'Mid-Victorian' would, perhaps, be more useful, but precise dates and description of styles would be more so." Among the best-known practitioners of the style were

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

Sir Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, G. E. Street, and Alfred Waterhouse. Waterhouse's Victoria Building at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, described by Sir Charles Reilly (an opponent of Victorian Gothic) as "the colour of mud and blood," was the inspiration for the term "

red brick university A red brick university (or redbrick university) was originally one of the nine civic universities founded in the major industrial cities of England in the 19th century. However, with the 1960s proliferation of plate glass universities and ...

" (as opposed to Oxbridge and the other

ancient universities The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...

). The style began appearing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, particularly New York, in the early 1860s with the work of English-born architects

Frederick Clarke Withers Frederick Clarke Withers (4 February 1828 – 7 January 1901) was an English architect in America, especially renowned for his Gothic Revival ecclesiastical designs. For portions of his professional career, he partnered with fellow immigrant Cal ...

Jacob Wrey Mould Jacob Wrey Mould (7 August 1825 – 14 June 1886) was a British architect, illustrator, linguist and musician, noted for his contributions to the design and construction of New York City's Central Park. He was "instrumental" in bringing the Brit ...

, and Americans Edward Tuckerman Potter and

Peter Bonnett Wight Peter B. Wight (1838–1925) was an American 19th-century architect from New York City who worked there and in Chicago. Biography Wight's career "flourished in the 1860s and early 1870s in New York, where he developed a decorative, historicist ...

. By 1870, the style became popular nationwide for civic, commercial, and

religious architecture Sacral architecture (also known as sacred architecture or religious architecture) is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship or sacred or intentional space, such as churches, mosques, ...

, though was uncommon for residential structures. It was frequently used for what became the "

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

" of various schools and universities in the late 19th century United States.Browning, pp. 300–301 The Stick Style is sometimes considered the wooden manifestation of the High Victorian Gothic style.

Examples

;United Kingdom *

All Saints, Margaret Street All Saints, Margaret Street, is a Grade I listed Anglo-Catholic church in London. The church was designed by the architect William Butterfield and built between 1850 and 1859. It has been hailed as Butterfield's masterpiece and a pioneering buil ...

, London. Butterfield, 1849–59 *

Church of St James, Baldersby The Church of St James is a Church of England parish church in Baldersby St James, North Yorkshire. This Victorian church is a grade I listed building, and was designed by William Butterfield. History St James' was built between 1856 and 1858, ...

, Yorkshire. Butterfield, 1856–58 * Manchester Town Hall. Waterhouse, 1863–77 *

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

, London. Scott, 1872 *

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

, London. Street, 1873–82 * No.s 2-7 Arden Street, Stratford upon Avon. *

The Kirna The Kirna, known locally as Kirna House (previously also as Grangehill), is a Category A List of listed buildings in Innerleithen, Scottish Borders, listed villa in Walkerburn, Peeblesshire, Scotland. It is one of four villas in Walkerburn desi ...

, Walkerburn, Scottish Borders, 1867 ;United States *

Hudson River State Hospital The Hudson River State Hospital is a former New York state psychiatric hospital which operated from 1873 until its closure in the early 2000s. The campus is notable for its main building, known as a "Kirkbride," which has been designated a Nationa ...

, Poughkeepsie, New York *

Jefferson Market Courthouse The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Gree ...

, New York, New York *

Memorial Hall (Harvard University) Memorial Hall, immediately north of Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an imposing High Victorian Gothic building honoring Harvard men's sacrifices in defense of the Union during the American Civil War"a symbol of Boston's commitment ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts *

New Haven City Hall and County Courthouse The New Haven City Hall and County Courthouse is located at 161 Church Street in the Downtown section of New Haven, Connecticut. The city hall building, designed by Henry Austin, was built in 1861; the old courthouse building, now an annex, desi ...

, New Haven, Connecticut *

Converse House and Barn The Converse House and Barn are a historic residential property at 185 Washington Street in Norwich, Connecticut. Built about 1870 for a local businessman and philanthropist, it is a prominent local example of High Victorian Gothic architecture ...

, Norwich, Connecticut * The Miller School of Albemarle, Albemarle County, Virginia (1878-1884) * Anderson Hall (Manhattan, Kansas), Kansas State University

In the United States

File:NottMemorialPano.jpg, Nott Memorial (1858–79),

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. Edward T. Potter, architect. File:18970403.NYC.Academy of Design (1865; razed).jpg,

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

(1861), New York, New York. Peter B. Wight, architect. File:GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE - Newburgh Savings Bank, Smith and Second Streets, Newburgh, Orange County, NY HABS NY,36-NEWB,24-1.tif, Newburgh Savings Bank (1866–68),

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

. Frederick C. Withers, architect. File:Good Shepherd Church, Hartford, Connecticut LCCN2012631282.tif, Church of the Good Shepherd (1867), Hartford, Connecticut. Edward T. Potter, architect. File:Inside the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania LCCN2011630494.tif, Interior,

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(1871–76),

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Furness & Hewitt, architects. File:Memorial Hall (Harvard University) - facade view.JPG, Memorial Hall, Harvard University (1870–77),

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. Ware & Van Brunt, architects. File:Connecticut State Capitol, February 24, 2008.jpg,

Connecticut State Capitol The Connecticut State Capitol is located north of Capitol Avenue and south of Bushnell Park in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. The building houses the Connecticut General Assembly; the upper house, the State Senate, and lower house, the Ho ...

(1872–78), Hartford, Connecticut. Richard M. Upjohn, architect. File:Jefferson Market Courthouse.JPG,

(1874–75), New York, New York. Frederick C. Withers and

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

, architects. File:Providence Illustrated, Court House.jpg, Providence County Courthouse (1875),

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. Stone & Carpenter, architects. File:Music-Hall-detail.jpg, Detail of carving,

Cincinnati Music Hall Music Hall, commonly known as Cincinnati Music Hall, is a classical music performance hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, completed in 1878. It serves as the home for the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Ch ...

(1876–78),

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. Samuel Hannaford & Sons, architects.

Notes

References

* * * {{Gothic * American architectural styles British architectural styles Victorian architectural styles 19th-century architectural styles

Examples

In the United States

See also

Notes

References