Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 25

Gothic Revival in Canadian Architecture

by Mathilde Brosseau

Conclusion

Perhaps because it initially embodied the new anti-classical spirit better than any other style, the Gothic Revival became enormously popular during the 19th century. The ties between English-speaking Canada and England made its adoption inevitable. Having appeared in the first quarter of the 19th century, the style naturally had its greatest initial effect on eastern Canada. Nevertheless, we have seen that the religious and educational architecture of the Prairies and the West Coast were not unaffected by the fashion, in these parts of Canada, however, the romantic aspect prevailed over the movement in favour of structural rationalism embodied by churches falling under the influence of the powerful Cambridge Camden Society. During the second half of the 19th century, the Gothic Revival moved toward a picturesque approach to architecture. In so doing, it broke free of the restrictions often imposed by excessive faithfulness to archaeological models and produced a new wave of buildings marked by a freedom of form that led to quite exuberant visual effects. Despite their often astonishing formal achievements and high degree of colour and variety, these buildings of the High Victorian Gothic phase also show a depletion of inspirational resources resulting from over-emphasis on the silhouette at the expense of a more rational approach with spatial arrangements based on a well-articulated plan. Well aware of this lack of equilibrium, many architects of the late 19th century turned to the teachings of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts as a means of correcting the situation without rejecting the practice of renewing past styles that had almost entirely dominated 19th century architectural production. By adapting the Beaux-Arts tradition to the Gothic Revival repertoire, a number of American and Canadian architectural firms managed the feat of extending the influence of the Gothic Revival through to the first decade of the 20th century — particularly in the religious and educational sectors.

Our study closes with this last echo of the Gothic Revival. However, it should not be considered that the Neo-Gothic style totally vanished from the Canadian architectural scene. On the contrary, it has lived on, often as an acquired cultural reflex, especially in religious architecture. Nevertheless, it was never again to be part of an organized formal system, as it had been when under the influence of the Cambridge Camden Society, the High Victorian Gothic style or the Neo-Gothic style in the Beaux-Arts manner. The functional system of forms that followed was to reject all influences from the past and aim only toward a conception of architectural space based on optimum use of modern materials and technology.