In the field of architectural history, few primary sources offer as intimate and comprehensive an insight as the diary of a practitioner. While architectural plans and drawings can explain what was designed and when, personal accounts such as diaries can help us understand why. William George Footitt (1865–1936) was an architectural draughtsman in the office of Charles Hodgson Fowler. As architect to the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral, Fowler had a successful practice specialising in the design and restoration of churches. Between 1897 and 1914, Footitt kept a diary to document his professional and personal life and to record his impressions of a rapidly changing world. This manuscript passed to his son John and eventually came down to the present Lord Shipley of Gosforth, the nephew of John's wife Elizabeth. By kind permission of Lord Shipley, this volume publishes the full text of Footitt's diary for the first time.

This unique text illuminates in rich and compelling detail the workings of an important architectural practice during a transformative period in history. Spanning nearly two decades, the diary is a fascinating record of the professional practice, creative challenges and daily life of an individual immersed in the production and restoration of ecclesiastical architecture during the later stages of the Gothic Revival.