KENT, William
(b. ca. 1685, Bridlington, d. 1748, London)

Interior view

1746-56
Photo
Church of St. John the Evangelist, Shobdon, Herefordshire

The cheerful decorative side of the early Gothic Revival is represented particularly well by the small church built by a friend of Horace Walpole, Richard Bateman (1705-1773) on his estate in Shobdon. It was built to plans by William Kent, who is otherwise known for his work in the Palladian style. On the outside, St. John the Evangelist looks just like a medieval parish church with its heavy battlements and central west tower. Inside, it is entirely white and pale blue, and dominated by that favourite Gothic Revival motif, the crocketed ogee arch. Quatrefoil tracery adorns the windows, and the same vocabulary is found in the pews and pulpit.

The photo shows the interior from north-east.




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