Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-12-12
QUEEN ANNE" DESIGNER.
NorsnnD shaw. Who AnxIicixcd classic
architecture.

(From the New York SUM-
The death Of Norman Shaw, ut ST. re-
moves one Of the most notable and pcr-
haps the most original of British archi-
tees Of his generation Tho preceding
generation Of architects, the generation
of Sir Gilbert Scott. of Burgcs and But
terrified and Street and Watcrhouse, Of
whom Waterhouse dying in 1905, was the
last survivor. had devoted themselves to
showing that Gothic architecture was ado-
qiiatc 20 oll purposes and to every OK
preston. The Victorian Gothic revival
Of which they were the conductors might
have succeeded better If they had not
COMPOUNDED the principles Of Gothic archi-
lecture with the forms In which u had
found historicai expression. In practice
they regarded these a. the sources rather
than as the Illustrations Of tho prin-
ciplcs which were in tnct those of real
architecture In general With true Brit
ith conservatism and ''prchensity OF
,ail'' they continued to repeat forms from
which the life had departed with tho
passing OF the modes Of construction
which had given rise 10 them Their
Gothic was thus largely a matter OF taste
alone o. preference for the Gothic forms
over classic. They failed 10 make u a
living language and to express It for all
purposes. Even when tho revival was nt
It's height Lord palmcrston directed Sir
Gilbert SOFT 20 make d classic design
for the foreign office, to the disgust of
that architect. But in 1885, at the time of
til" competition for tn new law courts,
which vas the most signal demonstration
TINT the revival vac in possession OF the
inld. there was not one notable design
that was not In some mode Of Gothic.
and no other would nave stood any
chance of acceptance or consideration.
| Iut ii vas soon recognized that the re-
vival had not succeeded in demonstrating
! Gothic for residential PURPOSES nor IN
commercializlnc II for commercial pur-
poses. Its most ambitious effort in the
| way Of public building. Streets law
I courts in the Strand, was failure with
! tho British public So equally was It's most
au1oitlous effort in purely monumental
, architecture. the Albert memorial in Hyde
! rark Since 1870 modern Gothic in Eng
| land has been mainly confined 20 churches
and colleges.
| II was Just AT this time that Norman
| Shaw. already II man OF forty and known
as picturesque and artistic draushts-
man. came into the field with MS pro-
posal for what may be called, though
very loosely, a classical revival. II did
r, employ classic detail but purely as
decoration and with freedom and use
fulness much more in the spirit or
Gothic than of classic. His free classic
was exhibited IN several country seats
ani IN one town house. Lowther Lodge
which created much coinmotion in the
! English ard American architectural cir
cics of the early '1Us. The new revival
presently became known as Queen
Anne" for no good reason. for nothing
could be loss like the fornalizcd design
which the followers Of Sir Christopher
Wren were doing during the reign Of
Quecn Anne than the ra,3. and diomatic
work of tho revivalist. The New Tea
land chambers" as We should say
office building wa much a novelty
in commercial architecture as Lowther
Lodge had been in domestic. The quail
;ties of thesc lines are shown on huge
and more imposing scale In the new
buildings for the Scotland yard, work
at which London long looked askance,
out hnally accepted. The early lnita-
tors OF Shaw were not successful. but
with such colaborcrs as Mr.. Coicutt he
at last succeeded in imposing upon Lon
don new secular style, marked b. Vi
Nacity Of design and disregard Of pur-
| ism as we'll as by strong contrasts of
color Tho motives and the general
treatment were derived more from the
continent than from any historical ex-
amples in the British Islands. and ii
ouid not ne unfair TO describe the style
OF modcrnized London as version OF
| Yleinish Renaissance