Donaldson’s Hospital, an early example of a new fashion for English revivalist architecture
While Scotland’s place within the UK is possibly the country’s biggest political issue today, in the 19th century things were different; there was no substantial movement arguing for independence. However, during the course of the century there was a clear shift in opinion regarding the value or relevance of Scottish culture or ‘Scottishness’, and we can illustrate that here, simply with reference to Scotland’s buildings.
At the start of the 19th century, Scottish architecture was characterised by a fashion for classicism, and the continuing legacy of ideas brought from Europe which became popular from the late 17th century onwards. And yet, the idea of the Scottish castle – rendered obsolete by the classicists – was already being revived, notably at the 3rd duke of Argyll’s Inveraray castle, after 1743, and afterwards by the brothers Robert and James Adam. Their work was a castellated classicism – that is, buildings that had castellated detailing, but which also continued the fashion for classical proportion and symmetry.