St. Pauls Cathedral, Spencers House, Foundling Museum/Royal Academy - Essay Example

?Essay on St. Paul’s Cathedral (500 words), Essay on Spencer’s House (500 words), Essay on Foundling Museum/Royal Academy Report on St Paul's Cathedral The St Paul's Cathedral, situated at Ludgate Hill (London), is an Anglican church with historical and architectural importance. Within this scenario, the peace keeping effort undertaken by the church authorities during the world wars is noteworthy. Besides, the St Paul's Cathedral represents the Baroque style of architecture, which influenced the scenario of British architecture. A. Historical significance The St Paul's Cathedral was built in the 17th century by a famous architect, namely Sir Christopher Wren. Historically, St Paul's Cathedral was constructed upon the remaining of other four cathedrals. The first cathedral was constructed in AD.604, and the other cathedrals were constructed at the same site. In the year 1666, the old St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed by fire. The St Paul’s Cathedral is the architect’s masterpiece, which is symbolic of industrial background, social life and culture of London (Lubbert, 2007, p.21). The St Paul's Cathedral is famous for marriage services. Some of the marriages of the British Royal family were conducted at St Paul's Cathedral. The marriage between Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was conducted at St Paul's Cathedral. In addition, funeral service at St Paul's Cathedral is considered as important. For instance, Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral service was conducted at St Paul's Cathedral. Besides, it played an important role in celebration of important events in the history of Britain. For instance, Queen Victoria’s jubilee celebration was conducted at St Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral’s service during the end of the world wars is noteworthy. For instance, the St Paul's Cathedral marked the end of two World Wars. The American Memorial Chapel at St Paul's Cathedral is another example for its historical significance because it is the memorial for the American soldiers who died in World War II. In short, St Paul's Cathedral is interconnected with the history of Britain. B. Architectural significance The St. Paul's Cathedral’s architectural designer was Sir Christopher Wren. It is the second largest church building in UK. The St. Paul’s Cathedral is the most noticeable public building in the city of London (Brookes, 1838, p. 453). Its architectural style belongs to English Baroque, with dynamic structure and design. The task to redesign the cathedral was assigned to Wren in the year 1669. So, the entire structure of the old St Paul's Cathedral was demolished. The most significant change was the construction of three domes upon the cathedral. Wren used Portland stone for the reconstruction work. But, the clayish soil under the foundation of the cathedral forced Wren to change his initial design. A number of artists and craftsmen co-operated with the reconstruction work of St Paul's Cathedral. For instance, Sir James Thornhill (painting) and Jean Tijou (wrought iron work) co-operated with the reconstruction work. Some of the examples of architectural sophistication of St Paul's Cathedral include the Whispering Gallery, the Quire, and the bells. In short, the St Paul's Cathedral represents amalgamation of French Baroque and British Baroque styles by Sir Christopher Wren. Summing, the historical significance of the St Paul's Cathedral is related to the development of Britain through centuries. On the other side the architectural design of the St Paul's Cathedral is symbolic of Baroque style, especially the combination of French and British architectural styles. References Brookes, R 1838, The London general gazetteer; or, compendious geographical dictionary, T. Tegg and Son, Cheapside. Lubbert, S 2010, St. Paul's Cathedral from Past to Present, GRIN Verlag, Norderstedt. 2. Report on Spencer’s House The Spencer’s House (St. James's, London), a big mansion, is symbolic of the rich heritage of Britain as a monarchy. Within this context, the Spencer’s House represents the Spencer Family, which is based on male lineage. Besides, the historical and architectural significance of the Spencer’s House retells the importance of this mansion in British history and architecture. A. Historical significance As pointed out, the Spencer’s House is connected with the history of Britain. The Spencer’s House was commissioned in the year 1756 by John, the first Earl Spencer. The Spencer’s House was constructed according to the status of the Spencer family. As the Spencer family was a noble family, the construction of a mansion according to their lifestyle was utmost important. Now, Spencer’s House is the most important private palace in London, which symbolizes the British history in 18th century. The mansion underwent remodeling in the year 1783. The Spencer family used the mansion as their private house till the end of 1895. But during wartime, the Spencer family allowed the government to use their mansion for nursing services. This proves the role played by Spencer’s House during wartime. Later in 1956, the Spencer’s House was totally converted into a number of offices. At present, the Spencer’s House is with its 18th century appearance, underwent renovation and is open to public on Sundays. In short, the historical significance of Spencer’s House is interconnected with Britain’s transformation from monarchy to industrialization. B. Architectural significance The Spencer’s House’s architectural work was undertaken by a famous architect, namely John Vardy. The responsibility to complete the external elevation, ground floor design etc., was fully vested upon Vardy. But in 1758, another architect, namely James Stuart undertook the work. Stuart was deeply influenced by the Greek model of architecture and this can be seen in the Spencer’s House’s interior decoration. From a different angle of view, both the architects were deeply influenced by Greek style and this is evident in the construction of Spencer’s House. In short, the Spencer’s House is one of the best examples of neo-classical architecture. Again in 1783, the Spencer’s House underwent architectural renovation, undertaken by another architect, namely Henry Holland. During this time, the dining room, staircase, hall, library etc underwent renovation. In the year 1942, the content of Spencer’s House was totally transported to Althorp. Later, almost all the content (say, art pieces) were reconstructed by copying the original art pieces kept at Althorp. During the restoration work, most of the art pieces were recreated and the Spencer’s House regained its past glory (Jones, 2005, p. 263). This attempt was so helpful to regain the past architectural elegance of the Spencer’s House, especially interior decoration, furniture and art pieces. In short, the architectural significance of Spencer’s House is interconnected with the influence of Greek architecture over British style. Summing, the Spencer’s House’s historical significance is related to the British history, i.e. transformation from Monarchy to industrialization and modernity. On the other side, its architectural significance is interconnected with neo-classical architecture and the amalgamation of Greek and British architecture in general. References Jones, NR 2005, Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales, Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport. 3. Report on Foundling Museum The Foundling Museum (London) is an important building in Britain with unique historical and architectural significances. To be specific, the role played by this building, within the British society, as a Museum is helpful to unearth the rich tradition of Art and charity services. The amalgamation of historical and architectural significance provides elegance to the Foundling Museum because it is interconnected with the history of Foundling Home and the development of British architecture through centuries. A. Historical significance The historical significance of Foundling Museum, within the British society is important because it unveils the history of Foundling Hospital, the rescue home for abandoned children. Besides, the Foundling Museum consists of artworks from the Foundling Hospital (public collection of artworks) and Gerald Coke Handel collection (private collection of artworks). The artworks that are exhibited at the Foundling Museum provide ample importance to the works of Thomas Coram (the founder of Foundling Hospital), George Frideric Handel (an eminent composer), etc. The historical significance of Foundling Museum is not limited to the art history of British society, but extends to other spheres like the charity work for abandoned children. The Foundling Museum was converted to a charitable organization in the year 1998, and opened to the public in the year 2004. The Fondling Hospital’s transformation from a fondling home to an art gallery is indebted to William Hogarth, who collected art works for the art gallery (Carrier, 2009, p.152). This transformation is really amazing and historically significant because it unveils the economic importance of art galleries/ museums and public awareness to recapture the past. In addition, Foundling Museum unveils the 18th century art in Britain. For instance, paintings and sculptures by eminent artists like William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds is displayed at the Foundling Museum. Historically, the Foundling Museum is one of the most important open to public art gallery in Britain. In short, Foundling Museum represents the rich history and heritage of art and charity services in Britain. B. Architectural significance The Foundling Museum, constructed in 1935-37, signifies the development and unique features of British architecture. For instance, the Rococo interiors, the 18th century architecture style was made use to construct the Foundling Museum. The artworks from the Foundling Home are made use in Foundling Museum. This helped to develop a unique amalgamation of 18th century architecture and 20th century architecture. For instance, furniture, sculptures and wall paintings from the Foundling Home represent the 18th century architecture in Britain. The renovation work during 2003-04 by Jestico and Whiles (say, an architectural firm), was helpful to inculcate modernity to the 18th and 20th century architecture styles. For instance, the Committee Room, Picture Gallery, Court Room etc., at the Foundling Museum represent the amalgamation of architectural styles during different times. In short, the historical significance of the Foundling Museum is interconnected with art history and charity service history of Britain. On the other side, the architectural significance is interconnected with the inculcation of innovation into architecture and amalgamation of a number of architectural styles. References Carrier, R 2009, Frommer's London with Kids, 3 rd edn, Frommer's, Hoboken. Read More