Экзаменационный (типовой) материал ЕГЭ / Английский / 10 задание / 03

A. Gothic Revival is an architectural style that became popular in Britain in the early 19th century, right after the period of neo-classicism with its straight lines and noble columns. When English architects turned to the elegant tall towers and pointed narrow windows of medieval gothic castles, it was, in a way, a reaction to the machine production of the Industrial Revolution, as well as a desire to portray pre-industrial society as a golden age.
 

B. Present-day Britain is full of churches, universities, and other public buildings and private houses built in this style. However, the two most iconic and recognisable Gothic Revival constructions are the Houses of Parliament and the Tower Bridge in London. The Palace of Westminster that houses the British Parliament was built in the 1860s after the old building had burnt down, whereas the Tower Bridge was erected in 1894.
 

C. During the 19th century, Gothic Revival quickly spread to other European countries and the USA. Several of the most prestigious American universities like Princeton or Yale adopted Gothic Revival style for their campuses and called it Collegiate Gothic. Gothic Revival style may not be as wellrepresented in Russia, but can be found there as well, if you know where to look – sometimes in quite unexpected places!
 

D. The well-known Russian industrialist Alexei Khludov often went to London and Liverpool in the 1840s-1860s to learn about textile manufacturing and to buy equipment for his own cotton factories. Charmed by the brand new clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, he decided to build his own ‘Big Bens’ for his facilities in Egorievsk and Yartsevo, bringing Gothic Revival to these little places in Moscow and Smolensk regions.
 

E. Another Russian textile magnate Savva Morozov built a Gothic Revival mansion in central Moscow – in Spiridonovka Street. It is not only from the outside that the mansion looks like a castle. Dark wooden Gothic interior, stained-glass windows and even thrones make you feel that you have been transported into the middle ages. Morozov’s mansion was the first big project of architect Fyodor Schechtel that brought him fame.
 

F. Perhaps the most unexpected place to find Gothic Revival interiors in Russia is Sandunov’s public baths – the most luxurious public baths in Moscow. Sila Sandunov built his baths for aristocracy in the early 19th century. But it was in the 1890s that the baths were rebuilt so that each room had its own architectural style. A heavy wooden ceiling, carved chairs and windows, as well as a beautiful mosaic make it look like an English castle.
 

G. There are many more buildings in Moscow that have been erected in Gothic Revival style by the most talented Russian architects in the 19th century. But there is also one authentic English building – designed by Richard Kneel Freeman, an architect from the town of Bolton near Manchester. It is the Anglican church of St Andrews in Voznesensky Lane, which makes the whole area around it look like a little part of Britain in central Moscow.