New Palace of Westminster (London, England) : Context view, closer view of the west elevation

Creator:

Barry, Charles, the elder, 1795-1860
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore, 1812-1852

Published/Created:

London, England, United Kingdom
1836-1888

Date Depicted:

5/15/1997
1850 AD - 1899 AD

Materials:

stone

Notes:

On 16 October 1834, most of the Palace was destroyed by fire. Only Westminster Hall, the Jewel Tower, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel and the cloisters survived. A Royal Commission was appointed to study the rebuilding of the Palace and decided that it should be rebuilt on the same site, and that its style should be either Gothic or Elizabethan. A heated public debate over the proposed styles ensued. It was decided that neo-Classical design, similar to that of the White House and Congress in the USA, was to be avoided due to its connotations of revolution and republic. Gothic design embodied conservative values. "On 29 February 1836 the first premium was given to Barry. The great task of rebuilding the Palace was to occupy him for the rest of his life. At his death it was still unfinished and was continued by his son E. M. Barry until 1870. The remarkable features of Barry's design were its confident Gothic detail and ingenious plan, which brilliantly incorporated the remaining medieval buildings into a logical system of circulation. Barry constantly revised and improved his design so that the final result became a uniquely successful masterpiece, which, although in the Gothic style, was designed on classical principles with a system of repeating modules.

Variant Titles:

Houses of Parliament

Topics:

Architecture -- Britain -- 19th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Gothic Revival

Culture:

British

Accession Number:

1A1-BC-HP-A4

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
public buildings: government office buildings (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors construction buildings; houses; official residences; palaces; buildings; public buildings; legislative buildings

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Two

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
5/15/1997

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10164286

PID:

digcoll:1819686