The Master Builder

William Butterfield was the most daring, rigorous and brilliant architect of his age, whose 60-year practice spanned the entire Victorian era. This book addresses the emergence of a modern society, with rapidly expanding new institutions and a changing moral code and explores how Butterfield responded to and advanced that transformation. It reflects the changing emphasis of Butterfield’s work: first, the revival, rebuilding and reform of the country parish; next the role of the church and the agents of social health in the burgeoning town and city; third, the revolution in secondary education and college life; and finally, sites of refuge, sanctuary, repose and remembrance. Drawing extensively on the literature of the time, each chapter discusses a societal shift and surveys Butterfield’s most important architectural contributions to this. Woven through the book are characterisations of the often colourful men and women who were Butterfield’s patrons and associates. It not only