Routledge Revivals
1 total work
Building on Ruins: The Rediscovery of Rome and English Architecture
by Frank Salmon
This title was first published in 2001. Charles Barry's victory in the competition to design the new Houses of Parliament in 1836 has been widely regarded as the moment in English architecture when the influence of Greece gave way to Victorian Gothic. In this illustrated book, the author redirects attention to major classically-inspired buildings in Birmingham, Cambridge, Liverpool and the City of London, also commissioned in this period after competitions had been held. He argues that these buildings bear witness to a self-conscious and more widespread identification with the ancient Roman world among the English middle classes, an identification tied to the expression of civic culture and pride during this time of political upheaval and social reform.