Westminster Cathedral
The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of Westminster was purchased by the Diocese of Westminster in 1885, and construction was completed in 1903. Westminster Cathedral is the largest Catholic church building in England and Wales and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
Architecture of London
The single most pervasive style of architecture was "Neo-Gothic", also called "Gothic Revival", embodied by the new Palace of Westminster built to designs by Charles Barry between 1840 and 1876. Gothic architecture embodied "the influence of London's past" and coincided with Romanticism, a cultural movement which glorified all things Medieval, from literature and painting to music and architecture. The evangelism prevalent in mid-century Britain was also a factor in favoring Gothic Revival, which referenced great English cathedrals like Ely and Salisbury. The leading proponents of Gothic Revival were Augustus Pugin, entrusted with the interior design of the Palace of Westminster, and John Ruskin, a highly influential art critic.