Perceptions and uses of Gothic in Irish domestic and ecclesiastical architecture, 1800 - 1815

Abstract

Perceptions of Gothic in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and its use in domestic and ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland, 1800-1841' is a study of meaning in Gothic revival architecture. The thesis challenges generalisations that have been made about meaning projected by early nineteenth-century Gothic revival castles and churches by analysing historical evidence. A method was developed to investigate three building projects with the aim of understanding the period in its own terms rather than as a precursor of the better understood Victorian Gothic revival. The thesis demonstrates that an investigation of meaning in pioneering Gothic revival buildings in post-Union Ireland makes a contribution to an understanding of expressions of national identity in British architecture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.