
Born in Hampstead, London, Scott was one of six children and
the third son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr. and his wife, Ellen King Samson. Like
his famous grandfather, Sir George Gilbert Scott, he was primarily a church
builder, his greatest individual commission being for the new Liverpool
Anglican Cathedral.
Scott and his brothers were raised as Roman Catholics; their
father was a Catholic convert. Giles attended Beaumont College on the
recommendation of his father who admired the buildings of its preparatory
school, the work of J.F.Bentley. In January 1899 Scott became an articled pupil
in the office of Temple Moore, who had studied with Scott's father.
In 1901, while Scott was still a pupil in Moore's practice, the diocese of Liverpool announced a competition to select the architect of a new cathedral. Two well-known architects were appointed as assessors for an open competition for architects wishing to be considered. The competition attracted 103 entries, from architects including Temple Moore, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Charles Reilly. With Moore's approval, Scott submitted his own entry, on which he worked in his spare time. In 1903, the assessors recommended that Scott should be appointed. There was widespread comment at the nomination of a twenty-two-year-old with no existing buildings to his credit. Scott admitted that so far his only design to be constructed had been a pipe-rack.
The choice
of winner was even more contentious when it emerged that Scott was a Roman Catholic,
but the assessors' recommendation was accepted by the diocesan authorities. Scott's
design was selected by the assessors, Norman Shaw and G. F. Bodley, Because of
Scott's age and inexperience, the cathedral committee appointed Bodley as joint
architect to work in tandem with him. A historian of Liverpool Cathedral
observes that it was generous of Bodley to enter into a working relationship
with a young and untried student. Bodley had been a close friend of Scott's
father, but his collaboration with the young Scott was fractious, especially
after Bodley accepted commissions to design two cathedrals in the US,
necessitating frequent absences from Liverpool. Bodley died suddenly in 1907,
leaving Scott in charge. The cathedral committee appointed Scott sole
architect, and though it reserved the right to appoint another co-architect, it
never seriously considered doing so.
In 1901, while Scott was still a pupil in Moore's practice, the diocese of Liverpool announced a competition to select the architect of a new cathedral. Two well-known architects were appointed as assessors for an open competition for architects wishing to be considered. The competition attracted 103 entries, from architects including Temple Moore, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Charles Reilly. With Moore's approval, Scott submitted his own entry, on which he worked in his spare time. In 1903, the assessors recommended that Scott should be appointed. There was widespread comment at the nomination of a twenty-two-year-old with no existing buildings to his credit. Scott admitted that so far his only design to be constructed had been a pipe-rack.
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The Anglican Cathedral foundations in 1904 |
In 1910 Scott realised that he was not happy with the main
design, which looked like a traditional Gothic cathedral in the style of the
previous century. He persuaded the cathedral committee to let him start all
over again (a difficult decision, as some of the stonework had already been
erected) and redesigned it as a simpler and more symmetrical building with a
single massive central tower instead of the original proposal for twin towers.
Scott's new plans provided more interior space. At the same time Scott modified
the decorative style, losing much of the Gothic detailing and introducing a
more modern, monumental style.
Construction continued throughout the 1930s, but slowed
drastically throughout the Second World War, as it had done during the First.
Scott continued to work on the project until his death, refining the design as
he went. He designed every aspect of the building down to the fine details. The
cathedral was finished in 1978, nearly two decades after Scott's death.
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K2 Telephone Kiosk |
Scott remained working into his late 70s. He was working on designs for the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King, Plymouth, when he developed lung cancer. Scott died on 8 February 1960 (aged 79). He was buried by the monks of Ampleforth outside the west entrance of Liverpool Cathedral, alongside his wife (as a Roman Catholic he could not be buried inside the body of the Cathedral). Although originally planned in the 1942 design for the west end of the Cathedral to be within a porch, the site of the grave was eventually covered by a car park access road. The road layout was changed, the grave was restored and the grave marker replaced in 2012.
Sources
Liverpool Central Library
Liverpool Records Office
Wikipedia
Robert F Edwards