Essay Plan
Paragraph 1 / Introduction
Examples of the tradition and dissent that is evident from the building alone - what represent tradition and what represents dissent.
Paragraph 2 The palace fire of 1834 made all of this possible. Mention how Pugin made his plans, why he made the plans for a more gothic approach and what it meant.
Paragraph 3
The reason a royal styled approach was taken and why this is the case. It all ties up to looking at a better past and bringing it up to the present.
Paragraph 4
How Barry and Pugin mixed to make the fine balance and the message that it symbolised.
Paragraph 5
How the gothic style meant making a building as one in Pugins eyes. Describe how common hidden parts of a building were almost used as decoration. Also the way the rooms were built compared the classical tradition that was taking place at the time.
Paragraph 6 / Conclusion
The palace and the two ways that it was built are essentially 'tradition' and 'dissent'. Explain why.

Option 1 Pugin and the Revival of the Gothic Tradition To what extent can ideas of tradition and dissent be applied to assist our understanding of the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster? The ideas of tradition and dissent have a clear involvement in how the Palace of Westminster ended up looking and how the designs were chosen and implicated. The religious choices, multiple connotations, elements of symbolism and the moving on from the traditional strict choice of 'classical' architecture are a combination of tradition and dissent that was intended to express that Britain is moving into a more positive new era. Pugin had a huge role to play in making sure that the new designs for the palace had a gothic theme to them. After the palace fire of 1834, the perfect opportunity arose for Pugin to recreate the destroyed areas of Gothic architecture in the same style instead of the influence and dissent of solely classical styles. The pointed architecture was strongly believed to be 'uniquely British' (Richardson, 2008 p. 113) but Pugin also believed that it would be simpler to follow the old flamboyant and perpendicular forms that were 'common in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Eastlake 1872, p. 169) (Richardson, 2008 p. 113). Pugins purpose to bring back the Gothic architecture design was to create a message that represented the 'national, cultural and religious character of Britain' as well as representing a return to a 'much better past' (Richardson, 2008 p. 109). It is important to recognise that the resurface of the Gothic designs was at the same time as the Roman Catholic Church revival in Britain. The last time Gothic buildings were built was at a time Protestantism wasn't around and with Pugin being a Catholic convert it was a symbol of a new era of the Catholic Churches presence. The perpendicular Gothic architecture was traditionally used for buildings that were for royalty. The Palace of Westminster was used as royal residence until 1529, but when Henry Vlll moved to York Place, 'Westminster kept its role as the seat of government' (Richardson, 2008 p. 111). This was a perfect opportunity to make sure that Westminster had a strong symbol for British government. Pugin made sure that the inner design of the building also had a powerful message. An example of this would be the seats allocated for bishops in the House of Lords. The seats are used at the start of each daily meeting and 'play a full and active role in the life and work of the Upper House' (Church of England, 2014). The dissent from past eras shows a want for the older traditions as they are, as mentioned before, a 'much better past' (Richardson, 2008 p. 109). It can also be seen as a push away from Protestantism. Allocating seats in the chambers to the bishops had not been put into practice for over two centuries. The overall designs of the chambers were also very close to how they were in the past, and the rich and royal tones combined a royal element. This is an indication that there is dissent from a time of success and power to be carried on and the intention is to carry on the path to success. Charles Barry actually won the competition for designing the Palace of Westminster, however he did have a lot of help from Pugin in his designs as we can see in 'Elevation of the River Front' (Plate 2.4.3). It is clear to see that the classical style is not obsolete as the design without the eccentric decorations and patterns is just a simple row of symmetric lining. Although Barry wasn't known for Gothic designs, Pugins influence allowed the two to make a fine balance between Gothic and his preferred style of classic. The design combines the symmetrical elements of a Classical style with the Gothic decorating and designs influenced by Pugin. The mixture of the two styles from the Classical and the Gothic illustrate the dissent and tradition taking place. Barry managed to balance these by creating a 'perpendicular Gothic design from the Tudor period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries' (Richardson, 2008 p. 114) by using designs that would typically be used for religious buildings such as 'fan vaulting and architectural, sculptural and painted decoration'. The design at first shows elements of a classical design with a strict line of symmetry when looking from the riverside, however if we look at the aerial view of the palace (Figure 4.5) we can see that the other side has evidence of asymmetry, typically a gothic approach. This is because of the old parts of the building being used with the newly fixed parts from the fire, the message again being that the strong and successful past will continue as well as the religious message that was important to Pugin. He wanted to make sure that Catholic symbolism was present as it seemed that he preferred the Christian hierarchal society in which traditional values were important. Pugin had a theory about the way the structure of a building is presented. He was also a firm believer that the building should be built as a single functioning and self supported building. For example, the Gothic churches traditionally had a flying buttress that would be hidden and covered up, but Pugin wanted them to be visible and decorated in great detail. He wanted to even make sure that the 'bolts, nails and rivets' should be presented well as 'beautiful studs and busy enrichments, if properly treated' (Pugin, 1812 - 1852, p. 114). This is a good form of evidence to show Pugins dissent from the traditional direction of architecture at the time. But it wasn't just the decorations that were important to Pugin. If we look at the chamber of the House of Commons as a whole, the traditional approach of having a small scaled room with governments having to face each other within close proximity was presumably something of the past. The more classical and new designs that were progressing, particularly throughout the United States, had a lot more room with less seating arrangements encouraging confrontation, symbolising everyone as heading in one direction. However Pugin wanted to hold onto a tradition that was specific to Britain and not follow the current trend. The ideas of tradition and dissent can be applied by looking at the two styles in which the Palace of Westminster was built. The Gothic styles represent the dissent while the classical style is the tradition. Both of these however were used to move forward at a time that the two styles were considered a safe option enriching conservative values. If we look at tradition and dissent, there is no doubt that Britain needed a new era of success and a change was needed. At the same time, Pugin brought back old styles that symbolised a good time for the country. Britain essentially moved from the tradition of Classical up to the dissent of Gothic, resulting in a new design that at the same time somehow appeared familiar to everyone.
WORD COUNT 1141

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Richardson, C (2008), 'The Palace of Westminster', AA100 Book 2 Tradition and Dissent, pp 111 - 119 , Malta, Gutenberg Press Limited.
The Open University (2008), AA100 Illustration Book (Plates for Books 1 and 2), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
The Church of England (2014) The Lords Spiritual [online], at http://www.churchofengland.org/our-views/the-church-in-parliament/bishops-in-the-house-of-lords.aspx (Accessed 25th May 2014)
Pugin, A (1812-1852), The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture, p.114, London, J. Weale