February 2017


Sir George Gilbert Scott 1811–1878 Alexandra Green


St Michael and All Angels church, which cele- brates its 150th anniversary this year, was de- signed by the prolific and distinguished English architect and Royal Academician, Sir George Gil- bert Scott. It is not entirely clear why Scott was chosen to be the architect of St Michael’s, al- though by 1864 when building work on the church began, he was already a well-established and highly respected architect and restorer of both church and secular buildings in England and wider afield in Europe.


Scott was born in Gaw- cott in Buckinghamshire where his father was per- petual curate. The house- hold was by tradition evangelical in its views, a far cry from the churches that Scott came to be associated with in his life and work. He was articled at the age of 16 to James Edmeston, who regarded the Gothic style which Scott came to embrace, as expensive and a waste of time. His first architectural com- missions came as a result of the new Poor Law of 1834 which introduced the institution of workhouses and in partnership with others, Scott was eventually responsible for preparing model plans for over fifty workhouses.


At the same time he was developing ecclesiastical commissions and at first these owed much to the principles he had used in the workhouse design, resulting in churches which excluded the pictur- esque aspects of church worship and church ar- chitecture. A major change in Scott’s style and approach took place as a result of a conversation with A.W.N Pugin, a key figure in 19th century English architectural life and enthusiastic propo- nent of the Gothic style. Scott studied and applied the principles associated with this style in his preparation for the competition to design the Martyrs’ Memorial in Oxford, which commission he won in 1840. This experience was consoli-


dated in his first substantial building in the Gothic style, St Giles in Camberwell.


The next twenty years saw Scott completing many commissions both ecclesiastical and do- mestic and secular work. At this time he was also appointed as architect to the dean and chapter of Westminster Abbey, where he undertook a num- ber of key restoration projects. In 1856 he was involved in a major controversy regarding the competition for the re- building of the war and foreign office buildings which involved a con- flict between the Gothic and classical schools of architecture. After much debate, Scott fi- nally produced a design which satisfied Lord Palmerston.


Perhaps one of Scott’s finest and most well- known designs was that in 1865 of the station and hotel at St Pancras, and was regarded by Scott himself as the fullest realisation of his own particular ap- proach to the Gothic style and its adaptation for modern purposes.


In 1872 Scott received a knighthood in recogni- tion of his work. He died from a heart attack on 27 March in 1878. His funeral was at Westmin- ster Abbey.


So it is a great privilege that we are able to wor- ship, 150 years on, in a building designed by an architect who many would regard as a giant in the 19th century architectural theatre. Scott may not now recognise the interior of St Michael’s church due to the substantial and imaginative reordering which has taken place, mostly recently in 2008/9, but the exterior is immediately recognisable as his work.


5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8