Gothic Revival architectureArchitectural movementSint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk in Ostend (Belgium), built between 1899 and 1908The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, Georgia, United StatesGothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or Neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century, mostly in England.
William ButterfieldWilliam Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. BiographyWilliam Butterfield was born in London in 1814. His parents were strict non-conformists who ran a chemist's shop in the Strand. He was one of nine children and was educated at a local school.
Architectural styleAn architectural style is a classification of buildings (and building structures) based on characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, form, size, structural style, and regional character.
Alfred WaterhouseAlfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs for Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London. He designed other town halls, the Manchester Assize buildings—bombed in World War II—and the adjacent Strangeways Prison.
John RuskinJohn Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was an English polymath – a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, political economy, education, museology, geology, botany, ornithology, literature, history, and myth. Ruskin's writing styles and literary forms were equally varied.
Charles Herbert ReillySir Charles Herbert Reilly (4 March 1874 – 2 February 1948) was an English architect and teacher. After training in two architectural practices in London he took up a part-time lectureship at the University of London in 1900, and from 1904 to 1933 he headed the University of Liverpool School of Architecture, which became world-famous under his leadership.
George Gilbert ScottSir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him.
PolychromeArt terminology and color method1883 reconstruction of color scheme of the entablature on a Doric templePolychrome 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. When looking at artworks and architecture from antiquity and the European Middle Ages, people tend to believe that they were monochrome.
Ancient universityThe ancient universities are a set of seven surviving British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities that were founded before 1600 AD, and are located in Scotland, England, and Ireland.
James Stevens CurlJames Stevens Curl, MRIAFSAFSA ScotFRIAS (26 March 1937 – 5 November 2025) was a British architectural historian, architect and author with an extensive range of publications to his name. Early life and educationThe son of George Stevens Curl (1903–1974), who worked as an inspector of agents for the Eagle Star Insurance Company, and Sarah (née McKinney), Curl was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 26 March 1937.
OxbridgeOxbridge is a portmanteau of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities of the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or elitism.
Redbrick universityA redbrick university (or red-brick university) normally refers to one of the nine civic universities originally founded as university colleges in the major industrial cities of England in the second half of the 19th century.
George Edmund StreetGeorge Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an ecclesiastical architect, he is perhaps best known as the designer of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.