Antiquarians and their study of Medieval Architecture: the rise of architectural history in early modern England 1680-1790

Abstract

Early modern quest for knowledge has its origins in medieval religious institutions, but with the advent of humanism and directed, pedagogical studies, the collection of data and information became formalised. During the 17th and 18th centuries in England, the development of antiquarian and topographic studies in the context of the Baconian scientific revolution saw systematic data collection and organisation applied to all disciplines, including the history of architecture and, in particular, English medieval architecture. As a result, a new kind of knowledge was created.
Antiquarians Browne Willis (1682-1760) and James Essex (1722-1784) both researched and observed different aspects of the history of architectural styles in early modern England. The work and research of each of these antiquarians show the different development of observation, analysis and interpretation of ancient, medieval architecture in England while being rooted in the groundbreaking work of the early English antiquarians who had an interest in architecture, specifically William Dugdale (1605-1686) and John Aubrey (1626-1697), among others.
This research project will bring together, for the first time, the work of each of these antiquarians to show that they developed views of the past of the built environment through how they observed, categorised and managed knowledge about architecture - all with a goal to create a new kind of knowledge: that is, an English history of English architecture. Through systematic application of knowledge creation techniques available to them - including the observation and recording, measuring and the printed image, among others - each built on previous research to develop new theories and ways of thinking about English, medieval architecture and its historical past.
The intention of this thesis is to show that through the emergence of systematic research processes supported by institutional and cultural organisations, including the Royal Society and the Republic of Letters, an awareness of indigenous architectural styles as a way of dating English architecture arose earlier than previously thought. No doubt this led to the emergence of the Gothic Revival; but to what extent did the new ways of creating and representing knowledge influence the rapid change in historical narrative and thought concerning English medieval architecture?

Date of Award	2 Oct 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Vaughan Hart (Supervisor), Mark Wilson Jones (Supervisor) & Marion Harney (Supervisor)