George Gilbert Scott

George Gilbert Scott

The Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London .

Scott's final design for the new building of the Hamburg Nikolaikirche. Original steel engraving from 1846.

Sir George Gilbert Scott (born July 13, 1811 in Gawcott , Buckinghamshire , † March 27, 1878 in London ) was an English architect who excelled primarily through the construction and renovation of churches and cathedrals . He was an important representative of the neo-Gothic architectural style, which was popular in the 19th century .

life and work

Scott was the son of a pastor and the grandson of theologian and Bible commentator Thomas Scott . He studied architecture as a student of James Edmeston and worked first as an assistant for Henry Roberts , then for his friend Sampson Kempthorne . After the death of his father, he went into business for himself and, with the support of influential friends of his father, was able to win some contracts for workhouses ( workhouses in Brackley , Northampton , Oundle and Towcester ). Together with his assistant and later partner William Bonython Moffatt , he designed over 40 workhouses over a period of ten years (1835–1845).

While his early works were often kept in a simple, classical style, Scott turned to neo-Gothic under the influence of Augustus Pugin . His first significant work in this style is the Oxford Martyrs Monument (1841).

His other works include:

• the Nikolaikirche in Hamburg (1846–1874)
• the parish church of St John's in Eastnor, Herefordshire (1852)
• Gardens of Lanhydrock House near Bodmin, Cornwall (1857, employee of Richard Coad )
• Exeter College Chapel (1856-59)
• the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building , Whitehall , London (1861–1868)
• the Albert Memorial (1862)
• the St Pancras railway station in London (1865)
• the main building of the University of Glasgow (1870)
• the renovation of St Margaret's Church (1877)

Scott's main interest was in medieval church architecture. He participated in the restoration of a number of cathedrals (including those of Chichester , Gloucester , Oxford , Wakefield and Exeter ), the Abbey of Pershore, the Priory of Malvern and the Church of St. Margaret in Westminster; he also designed the chapels of Exeter College in Oxford and St John's College in Cambridge .

George Gilbert Scott was promoted to Knight Bachelor in 1872 and buried in Westminster Abbey after his death .

His sons George Gilbert Scott Junior and John Oldrid Scott and his grandson Giles Gilbert Scott were also well-known architects, his son Dukinfield Henry Scott was a well-known botanist.

literature

• Alk Arwed Friedrichsen: The English architect George Gilbert Scott . In: Dombaumeistertagung Hamburg 2015 (conference proceedings), ISBN 978-3-00-053696-0 , pp. 101-108.
• David Cole: The work of Sir Gilbert Scott, London 1980, ISBN 0-85139-723-9
• Gavin Stamp: Gothic for the steam age. An illustrated biography of George Gilbert Scott, London 2015, ISBN 978-1-78131-124-0

Web links

Commons : George Gilbert Scott  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Sir George Gilbert Scott on britannica.com
• Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Victoria and Albert Museum London
• Sir George Gilbert Scott at gilbertscott.org