Sir 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.
Born~Died Jul 13, 1811 ~ Mar 27, 1878Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:49 PM
Sir 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.1
Born in Gawcott, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, Scott was the son of the Reverend Thomas Scott (1780–1835) and grandson of the biblical commentator Thomas Scott. He studied architecture as a pupil of James Edmeston and, from 1832 to 1834, worked as an assistant to Henry Roberts. He also worked as an assistant for his friend, Sampson Kempthorne, who specialised in the design of workhouses,2 a field in which Scott was to begin his independent career.3
Early work
Scott's first work was built in 1833; it was a vicarage for his father in the village of Wappenham, Northamptonshire. It replaced the previous vicarage occupied by other relatives of Scott. Scott went on to design several other buildings in the village.
Commemorating three Protestants burnt during the reign of Queen Mary, the Martyrs' Memorial was intended as a rebuke to those very high church tendencies which had been instrumental in promoting the new authentic approach to Gothic architecture.15 St Giles' was in plan, with its long chancel, of the type advocated by the Ecclesiological Society: Charles Locke Eastlake said that "in the neighbourhood of London no church of its time was considered in purer style or more orthodox in its arrangement".16 It did, however, like many churches of the time, incorporate wooden galleries, not used in medieval churches17 and highly disapproved of by the high church ecclesiological movement.
In 1844 he received the commission to rebuild the Nikolaikirche in Hamburg (completed 1863), following an international competition.18 Scott's design had originally been placed third in the competition, the winner being one in a Florentine inspired style by Gottfried Semper, but the decision was overturned by a faction who favoured a Gothic design.19 Scott's entry had been the only design in the Gothic style.3
In 1854 he remodelled the Camden Chapel in Camberwell, a project in which the critic John Ruskin took a close interest and made many suggestions. He added an apse, in a Byzantine style, integrating it to the existing plain structure by substituting a waggon roof for the existing flat ceiling.20
Scott was appointed architect to Westminster Abbey in 1849, and in 1853 he built a Gothic terraced block adjoining the abbey in Broad Sanctuary. In 1858 he designed ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand which now lies partly ruined following the earthquake in 2011 and subsequent attempts by the Anglican Church authorities to demolish it. Demolition was blocked after appeals by the people of Christchurch, and in September 2017 the Christchurch Diocesan Synod announced that the cathedral would be reinstated.21
The choir stalls at Lancing College in Sussex, which Scott designed with Walter Tower, were among many examples of his work that incorporated the Green Man.22
Later, Scott went beyond copying mediaeval English Gothic for his Victorian Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings, and began to introduce features from other styles and European countries as evidenced in his Midland red-brick construction, the Midland Grand Hotel at London's St Pancras Station, from which approach Scott believed a new style might emerge.
In 1863, after restoration of the chapel at Sudeley Castle, the remains of Queen Catherine Parr were placed in a new neo-Gothic canopied tomb designed by Gilbert Scott23 and created by sculptor John Birnie Philip.2425
Scott advocated the use of Gothic architecture for secular buildings, rejecting what he called "the absurd supposition that Gothic architecture is exclusively and intrinsically ecclesiastical."17 He was the winner of a competition to design new buildings in Whitehall to house the Foreign Office and War Office. Before work began, however, the administration which had approved his plans went out of office. Palmerston, the new Prime Minister, objected to Scott's use of the Gothic, and the architect – after some resistance – drew up new plans in a more acceptable style.26
Scott designed the memorial to Thomas Clarkson in Wisbech, where his brother Rev John Scott was vicar. The Clarkson Memorial was completed after his death under the direction of his son John in 1881.27
Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. Vol. I. London: John Murray. 1879.
Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. Vol. II. London: John Murray. 1879. online texts for vols. I & II
Additionally he wrote over forty pamphlets and reports. As well as publishing articles, letters, lectures and reports in The Builder, The Ecclesiologist, The Building News, The British Architect, The Civil Engineer's and Architect's Journal, The Illustrated London News, The Times and Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The Clarkson Memorial in Wisbech. Scott first put forward designs in 1875, but work did not start until 1880. The eventual design was a slightly altered version of Scott's original design.
Additionally, Scott designed the Mason and Dixon monument in York Minster (1860), prepared plans for the restoration of Bristol Cathedral in 1859 and Norwich Cathedral in 1860 neither of which resulted in a commission, and designed a pulpit for Lincoln Cathedral in 1863.
Lichfield Cathedral's ornate West Front was extensively renovated by Scott from 1855 to 1878. He restored the cathedral to the form he believed it took in the Middle Ages, working with original materials where possible and creating imitations when the originals were not available. It is recognised as some of his finest work.
In 1854 Gilbert Scott began a restoration of Sudeley Castle "working on the western side of the inner court in the style of the existing Medieval and Elizabethan buildings" and subsequently began the restoration of St Mary's chapel, with the assistance of John Drayton Wyatt.93
Sources
Bayley, Stephen (1983). The Albert Memorial (paperback ed.). London: Scolar Press.
"Media Releases". Cathedral Conversations. Anglican Diocese of Christchurch. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. ↩
Hayman, Richard (April 2010). "Ballad of the Green Man". History Today. 60 (4). ↩
Tomaini, Thea (2017). The Corpse as Text: Disinterment and Antiquarian Enquiry, 1700-1900. Gloucestershire: Boydell & Brewer. p. 152. ISBN 9781782049517. ↩
"The English queen buried amidst a castle garden". Royal Centre. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021. a new tomb, carved by John Birnie Philip, and featuring a full-length tomb effigy of her. Her crest along with those of her four husbands are on the tomb while on the wall next to it is a plaque commemorating the words found on her coffin. ↩
Willats, Eric A. (1987). Streets with a story : the book of Islington. [London]: [Islington Local History Education Trust]. ISBN 0-9511871-0-4. OCLC18221322. ↩
Tyack, Bradley and Pevsner, Geoffrey, Simon and Nikolaus (2010). The Buildings of England: Berkshire. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-300-12662-4. ↩
"Sudeley Castle and St Mary's Chapel, Sudeley". Gilbert Scott. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2021. Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2 volumes (Continium, London, 2001), vol. II, p. 1075. ↩
Sir 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.1
Born in Gawcott, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, Scott was the son of the Reverend Thomas Scott (1780–1835) and grandson of the biblical commentator Thomas Scott. He studied architecture as a pupil of James Edmeston and, from 1832 to 1834, worked as an assistant to Henry Roberts. He also worked as an assistant for his friend, Sampson Kempthorne, who specialised in the design of workhouses,2 a field in which Scott was to begin his independent career.3
Early work
Scott's first work was built in 1833; it was a vicarage for his father in the village of Wappenham, Northamptonshire. It replaced the previous vicarage occupied by other relatives of Scott. Scott went on to design several other buildings in the village.4
Commemorating three Protestants burnt during the reign of Queen Mary, the Martyrs' Memorial was intended as a rebuke to those very high church tendencies which had been instrumental in promoting the new authentic approach to Gothic architecture.15 St Giles' was in plan, with its long chancel, of the type advocated by the Ecclesiological Society: Charles Locke Eastlake said that "in the neighbourhood of London no church of its time was considered in purer style or more orthodox in its arrangement".16 It did, however, like many churches of the time, incorporate wooden galleries, not used in medieval churches17 and highly disapproved of by the high church ecclesiological movement.
In 1844 he received the commission to rebuild the Nikolaikirche in Hamburg (completed 1863), following an international competition.18 Scott's design had originally been placed third in the competition, the winner being one in a Florentine inspired style by Gottfried Semper, but the decision was overturned by a faction who favoured a Gothic design.19 Scott's entry had been the only design in the Gothic style.3
In 1854 he remodelled the Camden Chapel in Camberwell, a project in which the critic John Ruskin took a close interest and made many suggestions. He added an apse, in a Byzantine style, integrating it to the existing plain structure by substituting a waggon roof for the existing flat ceiling.20
Scott was appointed architect to Westminster Abbey in 1849, and in 1853 he built a Gothic terraced block adjoining the abbey in Broad Sanctuary. In 1858 he designed ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand which now lies partly ruined following the earthquake in 2011 and subsequent attempts by the Anglican Church authorities to demolish it. Demolition was blocked after appeals by the people of Christchurch, and in September 2017 the Christchurch Diocesan Synod announced that the cathedral would be reinstated.21
The choir stalls at Lancing College in Sussex, which Scott designed with Walter Tower, were among many examples of his work that incorporated the Green Man.22
Later, Scott went beyond copying mediaeval English Gothic for his Victorian Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings, and began to introduce features from other styles and European countries as evidenced in his Midland red-brick construction, the Midland Grand Hotel at London's St Pancras Station, from which approach Scott believed a new style might emerge.
In 1863, after restoration of the chapel at Sudeley Castle, the remains of Queen Catherine Parr were placed in a new neo-Gothic canopied tomb designed by Gilbert Scott23 and created by sculptor John Birnie Philip.2425
Scott advocated the use of Gothic architecture for secular buildings, rejecting what he called "the absurd supposition that Gothic architecture is exclusively and intrinsically ecclesiastical."17 He was the winner of a competition to design new buildings in Whitehall to house the Foreign Office and War Office. Before work began, however, the administration which had approved his plans went out of office. Palmerston, the new Prime Minister, objected to Scott's use of the Gothic, and the architect – after some resistance – drew up new plans in a more acceptable style.26
Scott designed the memorial to Thomas Clarkson in Wisbech, where his brother Rev John Scott was vicar. The Clarkson Memorial was completed after his death under the direction of his son John in 1881.27
Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. Vol. I. London: John Murray. 1879.
Lectures on the Rise and Development of Medieval Architecture. Vol. II. London: John Murray. 1879. online texts for vols. I & II
Additionally he wrote over forty pamphlets and reports. As well as publishing articles, letters, lectures and reports in The Builder, The Ecclesiologist, The Building News, The British Architect, The Civil Engineer's and Architect's Journal, The Illustrated London News, The Times and Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The Clarkson Memorial in Wisbech. Scott first put forward designs in 1875, but work did not start until 1880. The eventual design was a slightly altered version of Scott's original design.
Additionally, Scott designed the Mason and Dixon monument in York Minster (1860), prepared plans for the restoration of Bristol Cathedral in 1859 and Norwich Cathedral in 1860 neither of which resulted in a commission, and designed a pulpit for Lincoln Cathedral in 1863.
Lichfield Cathedral's ornate West Front was extensively renovated by Scott from 1855 to 1878. He restored the cathedral to the form he believed it took in the Middle Ages, working with original materials where possible and creating imitations when the originals were not available. It is recognised as some of his finest work.
In 1854 Gilbert Scott began a restoration of Sudeley Castle "working on the western side of the inner court in the style of the existing Medieval and Elizabethan buildings" and subsequently began the restoration of St Mary's chapel, with the assistance of John Drayton Wyatt.93
Sources
Bayley, Stephen (1983). The Albert Memorial (paperback ed.). London: Scolar Press.
"Media Releases". Cathedral Conversations. Anglican Diocese of Christchurch. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. ↩
Hayman, Richard (April 2010). "Ballad of the Green Man". History Today. 60 (4). ↩
Tomaini, Thea (2017). The Corpse as Text: Disinterment and Antiquarian Enquiry, 1700-1900. Gloucestershire: Boydell & Brewer. p. 152. ISBN 9781782049517. ↩
"The English queen buried amidst a castle garden". Royal Centre. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021. a new tomb, carved by John Birnie Philip, and featuring a full-length tomb effigy of her. Her crest along with those of her four husbands are on the tomb while on the wall next to it is a plaque commemorating the words found on her coffin. ↩
Willats, Eric A. (1987). Streets with a story : the book of Islington. [London]: [Islington Local History Education Trust]. ISBN 0-9511871-0-4. OCLC18221322. ↩
Tyack, Bradley and Pevsner, Geoffrey, Simon and Nikolaus (2010). The Buildings of England: Berkshire. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-300-12662-4. ↩
"Sudeley Castle and St Mary's Chapel, Sudeley". Gilbert Scott. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2021. Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2 volumes (Continium, London, 2001), vol. II, p. 1075. ↩