John Summerson Quotes

“He [John Summerson] wrote that Georgian buildings, in particular, did not rely on an 'irrecoverable sense of craftsmanship for the pleasure they give. Personally I find great enhancement in reconstructed classical architecture. I like the new, sharp-cut masonry of Peckwater quadrangle at Christ Church, and wish that much more of Oxford's scrofulous architecture could be "touched for the King's evil" in the same way'. 59

...

Part of his objection to their restoration rested on the fact that although the fabric could be rebuilt their furnishings were irreplaceable: 'You can re-build the structure of a building of the Wren type without losing much - expect in the way of sentiment. But once you start faking craftsmanship - Grinling Gibbons screens and wrought iron rails - you are doing a poor service to art and a positive disservice to archaeology'. 61

61. RIBA SUJ 10/3 Typescript 'Answering You' BBC Home Service 25 Jan. 1941 - 'Ariel in Wartime'.”
― Geoffrey Tyack, The Georgian Group Journal Volume XXXI 2023