Breaking Ground

The Workhouse Architect

Following completion of his articles, GGS was employed, unpaid, in preparing the working drawings and supervising Hungerford Market, one of the greatest construction projects of its day, using both advanced contracting methods and a wide range of materials such as iron, granite, York stone and cement tiles. This was followed by a paid position working on the fine classical Fishmongers Hall and a brief stint with an architect specialising in the design of workhouses, an activity provoked by the 1834 Poor Law Act. This, the first since 1601, set out to reform the current inefficient and costly outdoor relief by requiring municipalities to house paupers in bespoke buildings. There were no prototypes for these barbaric institutions whose inhabitants were to be segregated between men, women, boys, and girls.

Memorial to celebrate the Protestant martyrs burnt in Oxford

GGS’s first real breakthrough came in 1840 when, thanks to an introduction by friends of his father and his own detailed knowledge of the Eleanor Crosses, he obtained a commission to create a memorial to celebrate the Protestant martyrs burnt in Oxford by Henry VIII. The fine monument that resulted, for which GGS re-opened a local quarry, was given much useful publicity by a furious Pugin, who as a Catholic saw no reason to commemorate such heretics.

St Nikolaikirche in Hamburg

GGS’s professional name was finally made when, at the age of 33, he won an international competition to rebuild the St Nikolaikirche in Hamburg. He spent a preparatory two months visiting German churches and sent off the plans by steamboat in December 1844. Ice on the Elbe meant that these arrived three weeks late, but were accepted nonetheless.

By the end of his career, he had carried out some thousand commissions. To five hundred churches and thirty-nine cathedrals should be added large numbers of public buildings, schools, universities, and memorials, plus the occasional domestic commission, all of which the architect insisted be of as good aesthetic quality as his churches. He built in five out of seven of the world’s continents and in all English counties except one.

Sketches of Battersea Power Station by George Gilbert Scott

GGS’s success stemmed from hard work, perseverance, a detailed knowledge of medieval buildings, the encouragement of craft, an understanding of the importance of lobbying, and a large professionally staffed office, the biggest in Europe and then a novelty in the architectural profession. This enabled him to handle a multitude of commissions at the same time (103 during 1867!) and to train a large number of young architects.

Just as GGS revolutionised architecture by blending craftsmanship, innovation, and strategy, today’s architects and urban planners are reshaping cities with sustainable designs, smart infrastructure, and AI-driven planning—proving that visionaries don’t just build for the present, they lay the foundation for the future.