Personal and Professional Recollections: With an Introduction by John William Burgon

One of the leading exponents of the nineteenth century’s Gothic Revival, the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-78) most famously designed the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens and the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras. In the design and restoration of churches and cathedrals, his work was distinguished by its care, skill and sheer volume: most medieval cathedrals in England and Wales, including Westminster Abbey, benefited from Scott’s expertise in some form. Written between 1864 and his death, then edited by his son and fellow architect George Gilbert Scott (1839-97), this 1879 autobiography was among the first of its kind, recording the background, career and opinions of a prolific professional architect. Moreover, the work includes a defence of Scott’s principles against what he saw as the ‘anti-restoration movement’, led by John Ruskin and others. Altogether, these lucid memoirs confirm Scott’s place at the centre of Victorian design.