Dissenting Gothic - The Early Gothic Revival Period

The Early Gothic Revival Period

Although the earliest examples of Dissenting Gothic were commissioned by trustees of independent churches and chapels at about the same time as the beginnings of the purist Anglo-Catholic-dominated Gothic Revival movement, namely during the second quarter of the 19th century, the latter so profoundly dominated and led this early period of 'Gothic Revival' that there were relatively few examples in Britain or elsewhere of Dissenting Gothic before the third quarter of that century.

This limited use of Dissenting Gothic in the early Gothic Revival period of the second quarter of the century, reflected a marked reluctance by trustees and sponsors of independently funded and managed churches or chapels (in Britain, commonly referred to as 'nonconformist' churches or chapels) to commission neo-Gothic whilst the ecclesiologists were portraying it as ‘high church’ architecture. Equally, there was a refusal by some 'Gothic Revival' architects to accept commissions for ‘low church’ buildings, including nonconformist chapels. For philosophical reasons, some architects in the early 'Gothic Revival' period considered that the style should remain the exclusive preserve of the ‘high church’.