Doodle on Google's homepage celebrating Sir George Gilbert Scott
St Pancras Chambers, Hotel and Railway Station. Copyright: Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection
Working drawing for St Pancras Station and the Midland Grand Hotel. Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
Main staircase, St Pancras Hotel and Chambers, 1998. Copyright: Janet Hall / RIBA Library Photographs Collection
Google has been taking an interest in architecture recently; only yesterday the doodle on their homepage incorporated an image of St Basil’s Cathedral, marking 450 years since the consecration of this Moscow landmark. Today’s logo, featuring St Pancras hotel, celebrates 200 years since the birth of Sir George Gilbert Scott.
In the last few years both the buildings and reputation of this prolific Victorian architect and proponent of the Gothic style have undergone a major revival. St Pancras hotel is the most recent (reopening only last month) and amongst the most high profile of his projects to have been renovated, but a much smaller work in South Kensington, the Albert Memorial, also underwent a major restoration which was completed in 1998. This monument was the result of a competition in 1863 born out of Queen Victoria’s desire to see a memorial to her husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Scott won this competition and the memorial opened in 1872.
Albert Memorial. Copyright: Janet Hall / RIBA Library Photographs Collection
Unexecuted design for the Albert Memorial by Thomas Leverton Donaldson. Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
More images from the RIBA of Scott’s work can be seen online at RIBApix. The RIBA British Architectural Library holds photographs of his work and a collection of his original drawings and letters.
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