A Description and Defence of the Restorations of the Exterior of Lincoln Cathedral, with a comparative examination of the restorations of other cathedrals, parish churches, &c

Introduction

. The subject of the following pages has been forced into print by the persevering attacks which have been made upon the recent restora tions of Lincoln Minster. The more potent amongst the number of these assaults, although arising from various quarters, appear all to have proceeded from the same source, and undoubtedly have been persisted in for several years past with the greater boldness, as these adversaries have hitherto been left with forbearance, without the check of wholesome admonition. The critics could not have been long in doubt as to the responsibility in the conduct of the works referred to ; nor as to the individual with whom they would really have to deal, in case they pushed matters beyond the verge of good taste, and of fair and sensible criticism. The reader should therefore be informed at the outset, that the objects of the present publication VI are two-fold ; namely, first, the vindication of the writer, as the director and constant superintendent of the restorations in question ; and, secondly, the consideration of the works performed under this same designation in other places, by those very persons who have made themselves most con spicuous in censuring the proceedings adopted at Lincoln.

Assuredly it ought to be a matter of some moment, that those who go out of their way to find fault with the performances of others, should themselves be invulnerable, at least, in those matters upon which they presume to descant so freely to the detriment of their neighbours. The latter part of the undertaking will neces sarily occupy a conspicuous place in these pages. The examples to be mentioned will illustrate the general remarks upon architectural innovation, at the same time that they will appear in unfavour able contrast with the system which has been thoughtfully pursued and conducted at Lincoln. The writer's present undertaking has been one of duty and of interest, — of that peculiar interest which can alone be felt by those who have an inborn relish for the subject, which was destined to be the chief occupation of their lives.

His duty to his employers cannot be overrated or overvalued ; and the obligation is performed with increased satisfaction, since the subject consigned to his professional care is a specimen of very ancient architecture, with whose walls are inti mately connected some of the most noted incidents of contemporary history. This last consideration is an additional incentive to care in the treatment of subjects so valuable ; and a reasonable motive for allowing the archi tecture, with which remarkable historical facts are inseparably associated, to be brought prominently forward, and to be examined and described with as much exactness as the occasion permits. This, therefore, seems to be the proper place for the insertion of a brief tabular list of the Prelates concerned in the foundation of the Cathedral, and its reedification after the ravages of a succession of fierce onslaughts, A.D. A.D. Bishop Remigius, Founder . 1088—1092 Robert Bloet 1092—1123 Alexander de Blois . . . . 1123 — 1147 St. Hugh 1186—1200 Translation of St. Hugh . . 1282 John Welbourne, Treasurer, and Master of the Works.

The present inquiry is necessarily limited to the mass of building which composes the front, ex hibiting the elevation of Remigius's Church, the measures of which were ultimately expanded and most splendidly enriched. Oxford, December 8, 1865.

Part I

Treats of Architectural Innovation in the ordinary acceptation of the term, and as it is practised in these days under the specious pretext of Restoration; interspersed with references to the System of Restoration adopted at Lincoln Minster, and followed by a detailed description of the several processes employed in the execution of the work. The time has arrived when the writer can no longer allow himself to be silent in regard to the remarks which, from time to time, have been made in reference to the restorations of Lincoln Cathedral. He has unwillingly resumed his pen to enter upon the subject of Architectural Inno vation, but the matter in dispute is deeply interesting to him ; and, moreover, it becomes a duty to correct the errors of the mischievous, and to expose the sophistry of the selfish and the wilfully ignorant.

The task therefore is under taken ; no less for the purpose of explaining and defending the course pursued at Lincoln, than to bring to notice, in contrast therewith, the truly destructive method, which has become the fashion of the day, in what is misnamed the restoration of ancient architecture. The truth is that, instead of being carefully and faithfully restored, our fine old Churches are being daily deprived of their ancient character and costume, and are made to assume new forms B and features unknown to the age of the structure, and in opposition to its original organization. It is impossible to separate the two subjects now brought together, since the authors and abettors of the latter system are the very persons who question the soundness of the former, as exhibited in the renovation of Lincoln Minster.

It is perhaps natural that it should be so, since the innovators feel their own process to be condemned by the example which spares the laceration and disfigure ment of every portion, whether plain or ornamental, of the original design. The one is in accordance with the spirit of the term employed ; the other in direct contravention of it. The former leaves the subject still indisputably ancient; the latter changes its aspect, and destroys the various and valuable traces of antiquity. The choice between these opposite systems depends in great measure upon the taste and feelings of those who undertake the work of restoration ; and experience proves that it too frequently falls into the hands of individuals, who know but little of the history and the characteristic diversities of ancient architecture at its different periods, and who therefore are unable, even if they would, to treat its remains with the regard which they deserve.

But there is another powerful engine always in operation against the integrity of ancient archi tecture, viz. the vanity of the person employed, who chafes at the thought of being reduced to the level of a mere copyist. But to this an architect must submit, if he has resolved to be faithful to his trust. He can claim no right to injure the design which he is called upon to restore and preserve. Restoration by repair, and restoration by re building, are very different operations ; and every candid person will admit that the latter is the reprehensible course in cases where the former can be successfully achieved. In undertakings of this nature, the pride of the architect should be to preserve every footstep of antiquity ; but alas ! vain-glory steps in, and ancient Churches are forcibly stamped with the unauthorized inventions of the aspirant to fame.

A consistent, unaffected, and laudable respect for the magnificent edifices of former ages, would naturally lead to the scrupulous preservation of every feature and ornament which time or mischief has not defaced or destroyed ; and the absence of this feeling, backed by a large share of conceit, would lead to the overthrow of whole members of a design for the recompense of so much new stone-work, garnished with interpolations of modern taste in design and execution. There is therefore very little hope of reconciling systems so much at variance ; but if the same process which the writer sanctions at Lincoln had not been pursued some fifty years since at York and Beverley, and of which he was a frequent eye-witness, the splendid fronts of those Minsters b2 would not wear the face of antiquity now so much admired.

No undefaced stone in either instance was permitted to be removed ; and the repairs were so dexterously performed, that it is scarcely possible in any instance to distinguish between the ancient and the new work. This honest course of proceeding deserves to be imitated : it was pursued in direct opposition to the destructive schemes of the celebrated James Wyatt, and should never be allowed to become obsolete. The same system has been pursued at Lincoln, to the great benefit of the architecture, and to the economy of the resources, which elsewhere are lavished in re fashioning the interiors of Cathedrals and Abbey Churches, in such manner as to give them the appearance of Exhibition buildings. It must not be supposed that the writer lays any claim to the credit of having set on foot at Lincoln the course of restoration which he strenu ously advocates.

It had been the practice for many years, and a large portion of the south side was completed before he was called upon for professional assistance, and time is fast concealing from detection the inserted mason-work. The just pride of the Chapter is, that they still possess their Church in its original costume ; they can look upon the ancient windows, and walls, and buttresses, and are reminded of historical asso ciations, which abound in the annals of this celebrated city. For these, they will not receive in exchange the works of yesterday. The Chapter have no relish for new architecture in place of ancient, for new workmanship in hard and unsatisfactory imitation of that of the thirteenth century. The cabal against the restorations at Lincoln has been in movement for some time past : it is a sort of organized body, its " four or five" members working up to the note of their leader, who at length makes his appearance in the person of Mr. G. G. Scott.

These pages will not be brought to a close before ample consideration has been given to the method pursued in the execution of the works denounced by this gentleman ; neither will their purpose be fully answered, until a sufficient num ber of instances of his own performances have been adverted to, in evidence of the truly mis chievous results of his method of restoring ancient Church architecture. We shall then be in a position to appreciate the nature and the dis interestedness of the reverend regard for the buildings of antiquity to which he lays claim, and to exhibit the constant contradiction which his examples give to the sincerity of his pre cepts. He would fain have it believed, that he would rather lose his right hand than allow it to injure the surface of a single block of venerable stone.

He weeps, and scolds, and coaxes, determined to make an impression by some means in favour of his own prescription. He has always at hand one of his choice little lucu brations upon the miserable method of attempting to repair an ancient Church without first pulling it down. If perchance a village Church has fallen into other hands, he is on fire, and volunteers to write up its merits as vehemently as if he had before him an edifice of wondrous merit, and that the nation was about to be robbed of one of its most precious jewels. He has no sooner poured his tears over the threatened fate of the un assuming little Church, than he hastens to the proudest monument of architecture in England, invades the feretory of St. Edward, and denounces the altar and reredos, the latter harmonizing with the tomb of King Henry V, and surrounded by an assemblage of unrivalled works of art, which profane hand never before touched ; and he puts his pen to paper, to be his own chronicler of these strange and antagonistic statements.

These preliminary observations may be sufficient to shew the nature and scope of the subjects embraced in the following pages. The substance of what is here written was in part prepared in the year 1859, and laid aside in the hope that Mr. G. G. Scott would not again take the pains to provoke a discussion, which would lead to their publication, or continue to pursue on his own account the destructive processes of which he had given fleeting hopes ; but he has acted otherwise ; and since we are at issue as to the value of our ancient architecture, and the most proper method of sustaining it, the writer has no choice but to give publicity to the facts and observations contained in the present pamphlet. The reader is not to suppose that Mr. G. G. Scott had any footing at Lincoln, and was there fore at liberty to discuss and recommend, to censure and decry, whatever he observed in the Cathedral contrary to his own notions of right in the processes of restoration in the course of fulfilment.

Nothing of the kind : he voluntarily forced himself and his notions, his prescriptions and his practice, upon the attention of the Chapter, and with so good an opinion of these recom mendations, and of all that he had said and done almost every where, that he lingered for a length of time upon the hill, and, nothing daunted, prepared for the charge again and again as opportunities favoured the experiment. He was not encouraged to " waste his sweetness on the desert air," nor was he provoked by opposition from any quarter to repeat his prose compositions, and to persist in his good offices in favour of the Minster. It may be as well to remark, that so long ago as July 1859, Mr. G. G. Scott addressed a letter to Dean Ward, in reference to the repairs of the Minster ; the remarks thus voluntarily ad vanced at that date were not the result of his own observations upon the building, but were derived from hearsay ; and the report had been so often repeated and transposed, that the original word of gossip cannot now be recognised.

The Dean gave a broad hint, that there was no room for Mr. Scott at Lincoln, and that he must still send forth his plaint for the alleged wrongs of the Minster from a distance. Truth to tell, there could be no mistake as to the precise meaning or motive of Mr. G. G. Scott's affection ate outpourings, and of the plaintive style of his address. Nothing abashed, the hero of the clique favoured the Chapter with a refresher, December 1860; but as the first communication contained the full measure of what Mr. Scott had to say, reference will be almost limited to it in a few of the following pages. It is abundant in matter for observation, and must be allowed ample space, seeing that the penman observes great ceremony and solemnity in laying down doctrines, the value of which must be estimated not by the amount of talk to which they give rise, but by the influence which they exercise upon his own works.

That Mr. G. G. Scott's authorities in these invidious and intrusive appeals are sometimes questionable, has already been shewn ; and that they are likely to be sometimes astray, may be inferred from the following curious anecdote : "Some months since, Mr. Scott told me that he had seen in some French book, but in what book he could not remember, a statement that St. Hugh built Lincoln after some Church at Blois. This French statement, coupled with the likeness mentioned of the north rose window of Lincoln Transept to one at Blois, seems to tend much towards the verity of your supposition. No doubt some one will be able to point out Mr. Scott's authority a." How exceedingly interesting to antiquaries yet unborn, to be informed that, in these our enlight ened days, somebody was heard to say something about St. Hugh of Lincoln ; and that diligent search had been recommended, in order to make the discovery.

Mr. G. G. Scott's letter to Dean Ward is as follows. The Grove, Hampstead Heath, July 1, 1859. Reverend Sir, I trust that the inestimable value of that great treasury of mediæval art, of which you are the guardian, will be considered as a sufficient excuse for one deeply in terested in the preservation of ancient art, and having had some experience in restoration, in venturing to offer, with the utmost respect, a few remarks on the works which I hear are going on at your Cathedral. The work to which I would intend to call your attention, is the chipping away of the external surface of the stone-work. When Church restoration commenced many years back, the word was conventionally under stood to mean the removal of the ancient surface, and Gentleman's Magazine, February 1801. the bringing the building back to the appearance of a new structure.

Even then, however, this process was occasionally protested against. Carter, about the year 1800, describes it as "either receiving a new-fangled dress, or falling beneath the workmen's hands into un distinguished dust." I take the liberty of copying some published remarks of my own on this point, which may explain my meaning. "An original detail, (especially in carving,) though partially decayed or mutilated, is in finitely more valuable than the most skilful attempt at its restoration. A decayed or broken capital, or bas-relief, retains a beauty and an interest which can never attach to a perfected copy ; and it is much better, as a general rule, to leave such fragments of art to tell their own story, which they will do with immeasurably greater truthfulness without our aid. Restorers, even when disposed to be conservative, often mistake the true meaning and object of restoration, which is not to make a building look as if it were new, but (so far as concerns the fabric) to put it in seemly repair ; to replace features which have been actually destroyed by modern imitations, where they can be indisputably traced; to clear the ancient surface from modern over laying, and to check the progress of decay and dilapidation.

The more of the ancient material and the ancient surface remain, and the less new introduced, the more successful the restoration. If more cannot be saved, even one or two old bemossed stones, in a window or a cornice, give value and truthfulness to the work ; but when it is possible, all or the great majority of the old stones should retain their untouched and unsmartened surface ; and even where a wall is of necessity taken down, it is often possible, and would be always desirable, to rebuild it stone by .stone. There is an individual character even in the old ashlar, which should not be overlooked." I was aware that many years back the system of chipping off the old surface had been followed up at your Cathedral; but I had hoped that, with the increased amount of thought given to the subject of restoration, it had been discontinued.

It happens that I do not often pass through Lincoln, but I heard with dismay about this time last year, that this destructive process was extending itself to that most precious architectural monument, the eastern arm or " presbytery." I take shame to myself that I did not at once take the liberty of pleading with you against this. I have now been again told of it, and am told that it has extended itself to and around that gem of English art, the south-eastern portal, though thus far this invaluable relic has escaped. I hear too that the statues which exist near to this portal have been restored, a work at which I should have thought that the first sculptor in the land would have trembled. Now / beg of you to excuse my expressing to you my — I can truly say — grief and agitation at hearing of this, and my entreating you to pause while a large part of this precious monument is untampered with.

There is, no doubt, much decay which it is well to repair, and much may be done to prevent further decay, but the process of chipping away the old surface has these four effects: (1.) it destroys the marks of ancient manipulation, which every one who has gone much into the study of architectural antiquity highly values : (2.) it destroys the beautiful natural colouring which time has given to the stone, and which contributes so greatly to the beauty and impressive character of a building : (3.) if applied to mouldings, it is manifest that it must alter their section, increasing the width of hollows and reducing that of rounds ; and if applied to carving or sculpture, it is simply destruction: and (4.) it tends to hasten decay, by removing the harder crust of the stone, and exposing the softer interior, which has lost much of what workmen call its " nature."

Against these evils I do not know of a single advantage which can be set off, and the cost which is thus misdirected is also a matter of consideration. Earnestly and most respectfully begging you to excuse the liberty I am taking, and still more earnestly entreating you to put a stop to this fatal system of so-called restoration, which I do not for a moment attribute to you, as I well know that it commenced long before your connection with the Cathedral. I have the honour to be, Reverend Sir, Your very obedient Servant, (Signed) G. G. Scott. To the Very Rev. the Dean of Lincoln. Deanery, Lincoln, July 22, 1859. Sir, I have to thank you for your interesting letter, which I received between two and three weeks ago, and which I have communicated to the parties concerned. Of course great attention is considered to be due to any remarks of yours on architectural matters.

But as I cannot observe that you speak, as of your own knowledge and personal observation, of what has been doing and done in this Cathedral in the way of restoration of the exterior, I must suppose that your opinions might be somewhat changed or modified upon inspection with your own eyes. I believe there has been no wanton chipping, but only some needful adapt ation where utterly decayed stones have been removed and replaced by new. The two or three statues to which you allude have been restored by the hand of an eminent sculptor, under the advice of a well-known architect. The south-eastern portal remains untouched, together with its sculpture. I am, Sir, Your obliged and faithful Servant, (Signed) J. G. Ward. The letter of Mr. G. G. Scott surely can be the production of no other than an uncompromising defender of ancient architecture.

No thought but that of saving Lincoln Minster from indignity could have entered into the mind of the writer. The sentences breathe a degree of tenderness for venerable stones and mortar, rarely experienced in modern times. With such intense sensibility in behalf of architectural antiquities, the author of this document could scarcely be supposed courageous enough to engage in the necessary repair of any one of these inestimable works of precious art, lest he should brush away the dust of ages, or do foul mischief to the admired corrosions of time. Mr. Scott's reverence for the most time-worn ornament would not allow him to detach from its ancient bed so much as a block of stone, which had been assigned to its position by the hand of an artisan six centuries ago. Marvellous affection for mediæval architecture!

Assuredly the whole body of the Ecclesiologists will weep for joy, when they read of an individual so completely overwhelmed with concern at the bare rumour that the awful architecture of Bishop Remigius has fallen into unfaithful hands, and will summon their most accomplished penman b to do honour to this prodigy of valour. But alas ! the charming spell is broken ; for the soft words are closely followed by the harsh sounds of Church windows, walls, and buttresses, thrown into ruins in too many places. These words and works clash strangely on the faculties of the common mind, and, as things irreconcilable, must be considered separately and with due deliberation. The inauguration of the remarkable document just given, and the passage in which the penman announces that he was aware " many years back, that the system of chipping off the old surface had been followed up at Lincoln," are affecting in the extreme.

The broken-backed apology which leads the way, but poorly ushers in the culmination of Mr. G. G. Scott's agony. He stepped out of his way to attack what proved to be a phantom ; his tears, his grief, and his agitation, were all trumpeted forth upon the creation of some mischievous busy body. The inconsistency of the foregoing remarks is somewhat amusing : according to Mr. Scott's own account, and notwithstanding his intense anxiety, he allowed a whole year to pass before he kindly called the Dean's attention to the " chipping process," which, we must imagine, was wasting the b Ecclesiologist, October 1865. Cathedral all that time, the damage " extending itself to that most precious architectural monument, the Presbytery":' Mr. Scott made a great mistake when he lent his ear so readily to the evil reports from Lincoln.

He did not reflect upon the hazard of adopting the statements of those who can assume the character of spies ; it may be the jealous, the conceited, or the ignorant. It has been almost stated, that the exterior of the repaired walls of the Cathedral have been coated with plaster : no doubt the report will vegetate with fertility, and by the time it arrives at head quarters, will have assumed the shape of unquestionable truth. Mr. Scott is well-nigh persuaded that all he has heard of Lincoln is confirmed by all that he has since seen there : he wishes to believe it, and what so easy as to believe whatever one hopes to find true. As he has thought proper to father this paragon of deformity, he must expect to be dealt with as its legitimate author. We have a right to expect that as Mr. Scott evinces so much regard for the genuine cha racter of the Minster, and thrusts himself forward as the zealous advocate of every antique edifice, at least of that number with which he has no c The sanctuary, as distinct from the choir, is properly styled the Presbytery ; the term " Presbytery," as applied to Lincoln by Mr. G. G. Scott, is wrong. professional concern, that he is extremely tender and scrupulously exact in his treatment of the time-worn buildings consigned to his care.

His works surely may be supposed to covet the closest scrutiny. His hand, so lenient in its pressure upon the works of art which belong to another, would no doubt touch with painful delicacy every blemished stone in wall and arch of olden workmanship, whenever he takes charge of a Cathedral or an Abbey Church. He is in an agony at the thought that other hands, rather than his own, should press upon a building so sacred by all the associations which history can gather around its walls, as the Minster at Lincoln. So fastidious a practitioner as he cannot readily be supposed to have wounded any ancient Church, or to have diminished the time-worn aspect of the surface. If Mr. Scott had not possessed such tenderness for every aged stone of this famed Cathedral, and were not ready to expire at the thought that its purity and beauty should be violated by the rude assaults of the careless and the profane, the writer would not think it worth while to remind him of his own questionable emendations of ancient Churches : the mere breath of the report which has unnerved him — such is the zeal of his anti quarianism — sufficed to tip his pen with subtle sweetness; but he must be told, that there is no place at Lincoln for anguish and anxiety about the fate of a Cathedral, alas ! almost remarkable for the constant, careful, and judicious exertions bestowed upon it through a long course of years.

The "grief and agitation" of Mr. Scott! — he, who without compunction could perform such deeds of havoc at Wakefield Bridge and Don caster, at Stafford and Gloucester ; who could destroy or modernise with the relish of the earlier mnemoclasts, and find no difficulty in collecting tears from the banks of the Nile, to pour out upon an imaginary injury at Lincoln ! If injured stone could speak, what tales would it tell of the unsparing excision of ancient mouldings, sculptures, and other valuable ornaments ; of hurling to the ground of clerestories, and the stone-work of superbly traceried windows ! Mr. Scott, it seems, is privileged to mutilate and modernise ancient Churches. He certainly has no competitor at Lincoln in this unworthy calling; and must endure to be told, that to himself belongs the transient glory of having detracted from the interest of some of our finest remains of architecture ; and, under the influence of new feelings and expressions of taste, of impoverishing architectural history, by the extermination of forms, features, and combinations, which were engrafted on the original piles as they came into existence.

Which of our Churches does not testify to the truth of this remark ? wherefore are those which c were deformed and defaced by Essex and Wyatt, now viewed with diminished interest ? Gloucester, until recently intact, is a treasury of architecture; but if the cost of painted glass is to be the re building of its elevations, or the casting out of the tracery, the windows had better be left without the lustrous garnish. Happy Lincoln, to have escaped this process, and yet to have acquired painted glass worthy of the glorious fane ! James Wyatt was an antiquary, devotedly at tached to the subject. Ancient Churches and Chapels were his fondest delight. He advertised himself in very insinuating terms, paraded his experience in innovation, ycleped improvement or restoration, and revelled in mischief long enough to immortalize his name.