William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Historic Preservation in Europe
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2005 William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Historic Preservation in Europe Andrea Yount Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the European History Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Yount, Andrea, "William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Historic Preservation in Europe" (2005). Dissertations. 1079. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1079 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WILLIAM MORRIS AND THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS: NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURY IDSTORIC PRESERVATION IN EUROPE by Andrea Yount A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Dale P6rter, Adviser Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3183594 Copyright 2005 by Yount, Andrea Elizabeth All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3183594 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Andrea Yount 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee advisor, Dr. Dale Porter, and my committee members, Dr. Marion Gray, Dr. Florence Boos, and Dr. John Norman for the time and effort that they took to read and make suggestions for this dissertation. I would also like to thank the people at Western Michigan University who helped me with information concerning my dissertation work, specifically Kevin Vichcales and Dawn Nelson. Finally, I would like to thank the very helpful people at the SPAB office and archive in London, including the SP AB archivist, Cecily Greenhill, the SP AB secretaries, Isla Campbell and Helen Jones, and the technical secretary, Douglas Kent. Andrea Yount 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................... u CHAPTER I. MODERN PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES WITH NINETEENTH CENTURY INSPIRATION...................................................... 1 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE CONCERNING PRESERVATION, THE SPAB, WILLIAM MORRIS, AND INFLUENCES IN THE 19TH CENTURY ......................................................................... 23 III. THE ARCHITECTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ............................................... 53 IV. WILLIAM MORRIS, HIS ATTITUDE TOWARD THE GOTHIC REVIVAL, AND THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS......................................................... 91 V. THE SPAB IN BRITAIN ........................................................ 129 VI. THE SPAB IN FRANCE AND GERMANY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY........................................................................ 169 VII. SPAB ACTIVITIES AND INFLUENCES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ........................................................................ 195 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................. 225 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 CHAPTER ONE: MODERN PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES WITH NINETEENTH CENTURY INSPIRATION The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, founded by the artist and craftsman William Morris in 1877, sought to preserve the integrity of historic buildings by preventing unnecessary changes and additions. William Morris's intention and that of the SPAB, as outlined by the original manifesto, was that buildings of any period had a life that was best protected through the conservative repair of what was falling into ruin and the prevention of injury to buildings by safeguarding them as much as possible and practical. Throughout its history the SPAB maintained these ideals. One simply has to view the SPAB website, read the current SPAB newsletter, attend a meeting, or observe the nature of current SPAB work to see not only the credit which has been given to Morris and his original ideals but also to see how these ideals continue to guide the SPAB in its current work.1 Morris's organization of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, his passion for the Society and what it stood for, and his Manifesto express his principles towards restoration and preservation and explain his intense desire to effect change in the restoration practices of his time. Vital to the integrity of the SPAB, both in 1877 and today, this Manifesto provides the backbone to the organization. 1 The SPAB Website (http://www.spab.org.uk/) begins with a reprinting of the original Morris SP AB Manifesto. The SPAB News is a quarterly publication that outlines current SPAB projects and advertises educational programs ranging from appreciation of architectural heritage to the practical use of preservation techniques. The SP AB Board has monthly meetings to discuss financing of specific sites, to develop educational programs, and to determine future goals. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 The extremes of the nineteenth century Gothic Revival motivated the founding of the SPAB: in the mid-nineteenth century, many historic buildings were restored to appear Gothic in style. Although some restoration had occurred in past centuries, it was in Morris's age that this practice became so excessive. Early SPAB work involved speaking against restoration and providing alternate ideas to promote preservation. The SPAB so influenced late nineteenth century perspectives of historic preservation that it motivated the foundation of similar societies in Britain, Europe, and around the world. Due to the continued monitoring of preservation practices concerning historic buildings, along with the evolution of techniques and adaptations throughout the years, the SPAB is now the oldest and largest conservation society in Britain. The nature of preservation has evolved throughout the past century so that the words "preservation" and "restoration" hold a different meaning to people today than in Morris's day. Further, the word "conservation" is also currently used to denote a practice devoted to preservation techniques with only mild repair when necessary. Its use in reference to historic architecture is a primarily modem development. The word "preservation" could, and often is, used in place of "conservation." The word "preservation" held a similar meaning in the nineteenth century as it does today, that a building is protected from harmful elements and only necessary repairs are made to keep the integrity of the structure. That buildings be preserved was Morris's goal when he fought against restoration and organized the SP AB since, put simply, he thought that "restoration" was the same as destruction. Ironically, the word "restoration" is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the current practices of preservation and conservation. "Restoration" does and has, since the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 nineteenth century, meant something much different. In Morris's day, "restoration" referred to the practice of destroying parts of a building or a whole building to rebuild it to resemble an architectural style that was frequently not the original style. This meant that many good quality structures were being altered or destroyed because they weren't originally built in the preferred style of the day, the Gothic Revival style. "Restoration" currently means that a building or an area of a building is changed to resemble its original architectural style. Today's restoration practices tend to be much more reasonable than in the nineteenth century