Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Dedication
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 London and the Early Years
- 2 Cambridge and Scientific Work to 1841
- 3 Remarks on the Architecture of the Middle Ages and the Membrological Approach
- 4 Evidence and its Uses in Architectural History
- 5 The Cathedral Studies: ‘Landmarks’ of Architectural History
- 6 Public Scientist, Private Man
- 7 The Practice of Architecture: Willis as Designer, Arbiter and Influence
- 8 ‘Architectural and Social History’: Canterbury and Cambridge
- Afterword: Willis's Legacy
- Appendix: Willis on Restoration
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Willis Family Tree
- Index
Appendix: Willis on Restoration
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Dedication
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 London and the Early Years
- 2 Cambridge and Scientific Work to 1841
- 3 Remarks on the Architecture of the Middle Ages and the Membrological Approach
- 4 Evidence and its Uses in Architectural History
- 5 The Cathedral Studies: ‘Landmarks’ of Architectural History
- 6 Public Scientist, Private Man
- 7 The Practice of Architecture: Willis as Designer, Arbiter and Influence
- 8 ‘Architectural and Social History’: Canterbury and Cambridge
- Afterword: Willis's Legacy
- Appendix: Willis on Restoration
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Willis Family Tree
- Index
Summary
The modern process of church restoration is equally destructive of antiquity & may be defined to be in most cases the removal of the original work & the substitution of a clumsy copy by the parish mason whence comes the disregard or want of appreciation of the value of original work. This ignorant dislike to the timeworn & time-honoured surface which bears the venerable chisel marks of some Benet or Peter Quadratarius of antiquity & which was itself executed under the direction of the Master Henry Yevely or of the Alan de Walsingham of the day. Its very state of bruised dilapidation is a voucher for its antiquity & an historical record of the vicissitudes through which it has passed. All these records are daily swept away to substitute a pert & vulgar imitation which to be sure has the merit of looking neat & clean & sharp. A more intimate knowledge of the subject would teach such rank destroyers that restoration of the ancient work is impossible & that when Preservation makes repairs imperative they should be executed by first rate workmen under the superintendence of highly educated artists & be confined merely to necessary operations instead of aiming at the impossible project of an entire renewal of the ancient work which uniformly ends in transforming a valuable piece of antiquity into a bran [sic] new structure. Let whitewash & paint be cleaned away & all steps taken to insure the preservation & due respect for these precious records of the past but let the falsely called restoration be most carefully guarded against & only employed when most imperatively necessary instead of being wantonly obtended on all occasions.
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- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013