page_title: Victorian restoration
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Victorian restoration / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: The west front and main entrance to Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire, England.
context_page_description: The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same process as is understood today by the term building restoration.
  Against a background of poorly maintained church buildings; a reaction against the Puritan ethic manifested in the Gothic Revival; and a shortage of churches where they were needed in cities, the Cambridge Camden Society and the Oxford Movement advocated a return to a more medieval attitude to churchgoing. The change was embraced by the Church of England which saw it as a means of reversing the decline in church attendance.
  The principle was to "restore" a church to how it might have looked during the "Decorated" style of architecture which existed between 1260 and 1360, and many famous architects such as George Gilbert Scott and Ewan Christian enthusiastically accepted commissions for restorations. It is estimated that around 80% of all Church of England churches were affected in some way by the movement, varying from minor changes to complete demolition and rebuilding.
context_section_description: A number of factors working together led to the spate of Victorian restoration.
  From the time of the English Reformation onwards, apart from necessary repairs so that buildings might remain in use, and the addition of occasional internal commemorative adornments, English churches and cathedrals were subjected to little building work and only piecemeal restoration. This situation lasted for about 250 years with the fabric of many churches and cathedrals suffering from neglect. The severity of the problem was demonstrated when the spire of Chichester Cathedral suddenly telescoped in on itself in 1861.
  In addition, ever since the mid-17th century Puritan reforms which were typified by a minimum of ritual and decoration and by an unambiguous emphasis on preaching there had been an ongoing removal of any emotion or colour from English religious services as a means of distancing itself from what was seen as the excesses of Catholicism. But towards the end of the 18th century the burgeoning Gothic Revival and interest in medievalism encouraged people to seek more interest in their religious services. The popularity of the Gothic Revival was seen by Church officials as a way to reverse the decline in church attendance, and thereby start to reassert the Church's power, prosperity and influence. They therefore pushed for massive restoration programs.
  As a third factor, the industrial revolution had resulted in many people living in cities that had few churches to cater for their religious needs—for instance Stockport had a population of nearly 34,000 but church seating for only 2,500. The rise in dissenter denominations, such as Methodism and the Religious Society of Friends, was seen as further evidence of this shortfall. To fulfil this need, between 1818 and 1824 the Government had granted £1.5 million for building new churches. Known as Commissioners' churches, most of them cost only £4,000 to £5,000 each to build, and dissatisfaction with their indifferent design and cheap construction provoked a strong reaction.
  Equivalent movements existed in most of Europe, especially northern Europe, with the French architect and architectural historian Eugène Viollet-le-Duc especially associated with the French manifestation.
caption: The west front of Lichfield Cathedral as restored by George Gilbert Scott
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