The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain and The Cathedral Antiquities
Dissatisfaction with the restrictions imposed on him by the publishers of The Beauties of England and Wales, namely their preference for 'seats and wood-scenery' over 'antiquities', led John Britton to produce The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain.[1] After completing this series, he continued his prolific output by producing the wonderfully illustrated The Cathedral Antiquities. Many of the beautiful prints from both of these series can be seen below and are a testament to the skills of the artists and engravers employed to create them.
The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain
The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain was a four-volume series, published between 1807 and 1814 (with a fifth supplementary volume coming out in 1827).[2] It utilised views, elevations, plans, sections and details to illustrate its accounts of each ‘antiquity’ and contained a wider variety of subjects, including buildings like the Abbey Kitchen at Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset.
Much like in The Beauties of England and Wales, Britton is keen to emphasise the importance of employing good artists. In The Architectural Antiquities, he states that he is ‘desirous of apportioning to each artist, his deserved share of merit and reward, I have made it a rule to specify the names of all persons, and thereby attach to each the credit or discredit that may belong to his productions.’ He goes on to say that ‘A careful and emulous topographical Artist is a truly valuable member of society … his productions tend materially to inform our understandings, and produce delight’.[4]
The Cathedral Antiquities
Britton's sixteen volume The Cathedral Antiquities, published between 1814 and 1835, also employed views, elevations, plans, sections and details to illustrate its accounts of the cathedrals. It was the first attempt at a complete survey of English cathedrals since that of Browne Willis nearly ninety years earlier (1727–1742). Unfortunately, the volumes for Rochester, Durham, Chichester, Chester, Carlisle, Ely, and Lincoln never appeared.[3]
[1] Norris Brewer, J., Introduction to the original delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, intituled The Beauties of England and Wales (London: J. Harris, 1818), p. xiii.
[2] Mordaunt Crook, J., 'Britton, John', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography <https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/3458> [accessed 10 March 2023].
[3] Ibid.
[4] Britton, J. The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain Represented And Illustrated In A Series Of Views, Elevations, Plans, Sections, And Details, Of Various Ancient English Edifices: With Historical And Descriptive Accounts Of Each. Vol. I. (London, 1807), p. i.