Lecture by the Arts Society - Gilbert Scott and the Restoration of Ripon Cathedral
February 25th, 2025
David Winpenny: A Very Dangerous Work – Gilbert Scott and the Restoration of Ripon Cathedral
Sir George Gilbert Scott was the most prominent and most prolific architect of the 19th century. Perhaps best-known today for the Albert memorial and the Midland Hotel at St. Pancras, Scott was celebrated in his day as a designer of churches and a restorer of cathedrals. Scott’s career, from his early days as a designer of workhouses, through his awakening to Gothic architecture by reading Pugin, to his knighthood and his burial in Westminster Abbey, is outlined in this talk. It details his spat with Lord Palmerston over his designs for the Foreign Office and looks at a neglected aspect of his work, his country houses. Taking Ripon Cathedral as an example, it also looks at his cathedral restoration work – which attracted criticism later in his career, notably from William Morris. Scott’s Ripon restoration shows how his intervention could be sensitive and careful (and vital to stop imminent collapse) but also occasionally cavalier. It is certainly due to his work that Ripon and at least 25 other British cathedrals are still standing.
David studied English at Birmingham University and taught for several years before joining the Countryside Commission as Co-ordinator of its National Parks Campaign. He worked for the Central Office of Information in Leeds before setting up his own public relations company. He is the author of ‘Up to a Point – in search of pyramids in Britian and Ireland’ and has written and contributed to several books for the AA. He has written for BBC Countryfile Magazine and English Heritage magazine. He is chairman of Ripon Civic Society and lectures on architectural and related subjects on cruise ships as well as dry land.
About the Arts Society
The Arts Society Wensleydale is the local arts society group (formerly known as NADFAS) for Richmond, Masham, Leyburn and the Dales.
Are you interested in the arts and discovering more? The Arts Society Wensleydale can offer you an excellent programme of talks from carefully selected lecturers who are experts in their fields and chosen for their excellent presentation skills and their academic knowledge.
Timings & Admission
2pm start
Visitors and non-members welcome, but a charitable donation is appreciated.
