W. G. Footitt was an architectural draughtsman in the office of Charles Hodgson Fowler, architect to Durham, Lincoln and Rochester Cathedrals. Recently discovered in a private collection, his personal diary illuminates the professional practice and daily life of an individual immersed in the design and restoration of ecclesiastical architecture during the last years of the Gothic Revival. Significantly, it highlights the important contribution made by draughtsmen, whose names rarely appear in published histories of architecture. Their meticulous work, translating design concepts into detailed plans and drawings, is essential to the realisation of architectural visions.
A talented artist with a passion for antiquities, Footitt also produced many drawings to illustrate the publications of leading archaeologists in County Durham and Northumberland, thus playing a crucial role in bringing their discoveries to a wider audience.
Spanning nearly two decades, this unique primary source is a fascinating record of social history during a transitional era. Footitt was a keen observer of the world around him, travelling widely across Britain and recording holidays in Ireland and Switzerland. His first-hand impressions of social, cultural and technological change make the diary a vivid chronicle of modernity.
