This website has been established to celebrate two bicentenary anniversaries in the career of the architect and antiquary Thomas Rickman (1776-1841). It is intended as a resource for members of the public, scholars, heritage professionals, church volunteers, and anyone else with an interest in nineteenth-century architecture, architectural writing, and other aspects of the career of this fascinating figure.

In 1817 Rickman, a Quaker accountant in a Liverpool insurance firm, wrote An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture, the first accurate history of English gothic architecture, which became a nineteenth-century bestseller. In 1818 the second Church Building Act was passed by Parliament, creating demand for his services as a recognised expert in gothic architecture with a strong financial background. Thanks to the Church Commissioners, Rickman went on to have a large and varied architectural practice.

During the period of 2017-18, events, conferences, and exhibitions are planned to celebrate and investigate aspects of Thomas Rickman’s work and that of his contemporaries, under the banner ‘Architecture and Society in an Age of Reform’. Details will be posted here as they become available. If you would like to visit Rickman’s own buildings, or those which inspired him, a selection of these will be highlighted on the ‘Events and Sites to Visit’ page of this website. Please contact us with any information you would like to share, or if you would like assistance in planning your own ‘Rickman event’.