Early Nineteenth Century
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Regency Architecture is associated with the period 1800-1820 when George IV was Prince Regent. Such buildings often have a lightness of touch when compared to their forebears, the veranda like extension to the riverside façade of Brook Hall, on the outskirts of the city, is typical of the period. Curved bays are also typical as well as a general interest in the ‘picturesque’.
Neoclassicism is the term given to the reproduction of the classical style in an academic way. Rather than interpreting the spirit of the text books such buildings reproduced actual details. The Courthouse on Bishop street of 1818 is a very good example of this type. Its columns are an exact copy of those on the Erechtheum in Athens. This was no longer Roman Architecture like Bishop’s Gate but classicism from the source – Greece There are three main types of column used in classical architecture: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The Tuscan, shown here on the former Bishop’s Palace, is a simpler form of the Doric developed by the Romans. The orders are said to have characteristics. Doric and Tuscan are regarded as ‘male’ and associated with war or male saints. Thus it was appropriate to choose this form for the applied columns on Ferryquay Gate in the Walls or for the now blown up Governor Walker’s Column- or for a Bishop’s home. While the Ionic Order is associated with ‘balance’ and therefore appropriate for the Courthouse, the Corinthian Order is regarded as female and often used for celebratory public buildings. This use on the city’s main Presbyterian . Church can be understood a celebration of this important community in a prominent site overlooking the Walls. However, as the Nineteenth Century progressed it is also true that buildings became more decorative generally. Important buildings therefore had to shout a little louder to stand out from the crowd. This façade was constructed in 1903 to replace a much simpler previous elevation. |
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