George Edmund Street

“The great object, as it seems to me, in all restorations, is to get rid of all signs of the restoration, and to leave the church as though it had never been touched.”

“A brick building, to be good, must be simple; its ornamentation must be derived from the disposition of the bricks themselves, and in no other way.”

“There is nothing whatever to be said in favour of a sham. Let us at all costs be truthful in our buildings.”

“The study of old examples is the A B C of our art, but it must only be a means to an end, and that end the formation of a style of our own.”

“It is a misfortune for an architect to be born in a country where there is no national style of architecture.”

“The first necessity of all is that we should have architects who are artists.”

“The architect must be a man of the most varied and extensive acquirements. He must be a good constructionist, a good artist, a man of literary tastes, a good man of business, and a gentleman.”

“Every building which is worth seeing, is so for some definite reason, either for its general design, its detail, its construction, or its material.”

“The proper place for sculpture is where it may be seen, and the proper use of it is to make it a portion of the building which it adorns.”