Scott, Sir George Gilbert 1811-78
English architect

Born in Gawcott, Buckinghamshire, he was inspired by the Cambridge Camden Society and an article of Augustus Pugin (1840-41). He became the leading practical architect in the Gothic revival, and oversaw the building or restoration of many public buildings, ecclesiastical and civil. Examples of his work are the Martyrs Memorial at Oxford (1841), St Nicholas at Hamburg (1844), St George's at Doncaster, the new India office (exceptionally, owing to pressure by Lord Henry Palmerston, in the style of the Italian Renaissance), the Home and Colonial Offices (from 1858), the Albert Memorial (1862-63), St Pancras station and hotel in London (1865), Glasgow University (1865), the chapels of Exeter and St John's Colleges, Oxford, and the Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh. In 1868 he was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy. The establishment of the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings (1877) was due to his inspiration. He wrote works on English medieval church architecture. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.

Bibliography: Personal and Professional Recollections (1879)