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The symbolic landscapes of nineteenth and early twentieth century English Catholic public schools

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Badham, John Richard (2004) The symbolic landscapes of nineteenth and early twentieth century English Catholic public schools. Masters thesis, University of Gloucestershire.

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Official URL: https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/10739

Abstract

It is clear that landscape has many layers of symbolic meaning. This dissertation has explored the various symbolic meanings within the landscapes of the 19th century Catholic public schools. The focus has been predominately on two very different and representative examples of the genre; namely St Edmund's College and Downside, School and Abbey. An important part of this exploration has been in the contextualization evident in the image, theatre, and text that underlies and explains the formation of this landscape. An understanding of these landscapes as cultural images has required a detailed analysis of the cultural imperatives evident in the terms 'Catholic' and 'public school'. In doing so it has been possible to draw out further understanding of the nature of 19th century English Catholicism and the development during this period of the public school. The core of this dissertation has been a detailed examination of the symbolic landscape of St Edmund's and Downside relating the particular matters evident in this analysis to a more general examination of the key issues of historical and cultural formation. Amongst the key issues that have been examined are the nature of elite education both within the national context and more particularly in the confessional particularity of the 19th century Catholic community. The question of design and architectural style, especially in relation to Gothic Revival has been placed in a historical and cultural context. Finally, the issue of minority integration, and the tensions which are implicit in this process, have been investigated. Moreover, it has been recognised that such an assimilation within the dominant cultural social majority involves harmonisation and even synchronisation of religious and social attitudes. This too has implications in the formation and development of landscape.

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Thesis (Masters)

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