Restoration (England)

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Restoration. The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was due more to the failure of alternative republican regimes than to the efforts of loyalists. An army junta dispersed the Rump Parliament in October 1659 but failed to rally civilian support. Dissident garrison soldiers restored the Rump and General Monck invaded England with the army of occupation in Scotland. He quickly realized that the Rump no longer possessed the consent of the nation; he therefore restored the MPs who had been excluded from the Commons in 1648, on condition that they dissolved Parliament so that new elections could be held. The resulting Convention—so called because it had not been summoned by the crown—invited Charles II to return. Suggestions that conditions should be attached came to nothing.

Restoration meant the return of legality, ending arbitrary or ‘sword’ government and changes enforced by a politicized army. Arbitrary high courts disappeared and Charles I's prerogative courts were not revived. Parliaments were again to be elected on the traditional franchises and by the old constituencies. The Lords returned. Levels of taxation fell sharply as most of the army was disbanded. An amateur militia replaced it. An Indemnity Act pardoned all except the regicides. The Convention contained a majority of former parliamentarians but old cavaliers in the 1661 Parliament tried to modify what had been done. Charles successfully resisted their attempts to exclude from office all who had fought his father and to restore estates to cavaliers who had lost them. This Parliament strengthened the crown with new treason laws, a Licensing Act establishing censorship, and a purge of urban corporations. It also enacted the Clarendon code restoring the church and it was this narrow settlement that provoked bitterness and lasting division.

J. R. Jones

Restoration in French history, the period from 1814 to 1830. It began with the first abdication of Emperor Napoleon I and the return of the Bourbon king, Louis XVIII, but was interrupted (1815) by Napoleon's return (the Hundred Days ). After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Louis XVIII was again restored as king of France. The Bourbon regime was responsible for considerable French economic recovery and expansion and for the restoration of French prestige abroad. These years also saw the growth of the romantic movement in French literature and arts. However, the period marked the failure of the attempt to reconcile the royalist and Revolutionary traditions. Increasing political influence was exerted upon the moderate Louis XVIII by the ultraroyalists, dominated by his brother, the comte d'Artois, who succeeded (1824) Louis as King Charles X . The ultraroyalists sought a return to the ancien régime. They were aware, however, that this could not be achieved and acted instead to ensure their own political and social predominance. Their power was finally broken by the July Revolution of 1830.

Bibliography: See N. Hudson, Ultra-Royalism and the French Restoration (1936); G. de Bertier de Sauvigny, France and the European Alliance (1958), D. P. Resnick, The White Terror and the Political Reaction after Waterloo (1966); J. H. Stewart, The Restoration Era in France (1968).

Restoration, the re-establishment of monarchy in England, with the return of Charles II (1660); also the period marked by this event of which the chief literary figures are Dryden, Rochester, Bunyan, Pepys, Locke, and the Restoration dramatists. One of the characteristic genres of the period is Restoration comedy, or the comedy of manners, which developed upon the re-opening of the theatres. Its principal writers were Congreve, Etherege, Farquhar, Vanbrugh, and Wycherley, and its predominant tone was witty, bawdy, cynical, and amoral. The plays were mainly in prose, with passages of verse for the more romantic moments; the plots were complex and usually double, sometimes triple, though repartee and discussions of marital behaviour provide much of the interest, reflecting the fashionable manners of the day. The playwrights came under heavy attack for frivolity, blasphemy, and immorality (see Collier, Jeremy): they and their subsequent admirers defended their works as serious social criticism, and mirrors to the age. During the 18th cent. the plays were presented in more ‘genteel’ versions, and in the 19th cent. hardly at all: the 20th cent. saw a considerable revival of interest, with such notable productions as The Way of the World, one of the masterpieces of the period, in 1924 with Edith Evans as Millamant. (See also heroic drama and comedy.)

res·to·ra·tion / ˌrestəˈrāshən/ • n. 1. the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition: the restoration of Andrew's sight. ∎  the process of repairing or renovating a building, work of art, vehicle, etc., so as to restore it to its original condition: the altar paintings seem in need of restoration. ∎  the reinstatement of a previous practice, right, custom, or situation: the restoration of capital punishment. ∎  Dentistry a structure provided to replace or repair dental tissue so as to restore its form and function, such as a filling, crown, or bridge. ∎  a model or drawing representing the supposed original form of an extinct animal, ruined building, etc. 2. the return of a hereditary monarch to a throne, a head of state to government, or a regime to power. ∎  (the Restoration) the reestablishment of Charles II as King of England in 1660. ∎  (Restoration) [usu. as adj.] the period following this, esp. with regard to its literature or architecture: Restoration drama.

Restoration The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was due more to the failure of alternative republican regimes than to the efforts of loyalists. An army junta dispersed the Rump Parliament in October 1659 but failed to rally civilian support. Dissident garrison soldiers restored the Rump and General Monck invaded England with the army of occupation in Scotland. He quickly realized that the Rump no longer possessed the consent of the nation; he therefore restored the MPs who had been excluded from the Commons in 1648, on condition that they dissolved Parliament so that new elections could be held. The resulting Convention invited Charles II to return.

Restoration meant the return of legality, ending arbitrary or ‘sword’ government and changes enforced by a politicized army. Arbitrary high courts disappeared and Charles I's prerogative courts were not revived. Parliaments were again to be elected on the traditional franchises and by the old constituencies. The Lords returned. Levels of taxation fell sharply as most of the army was disbanded. An Indemnity Act pardoned all except the regicides.

Restoration In English history, the re-establishment of the monarchy in 1660. After the death of Oliver Cromwell, his son and successor, Richard, was unable to prevent growing conflict or restrain the increasing power of the army. He resigned (1659), and the crisis was resolved by the march of General George Monck from Scotland. Army leaders backed down, and a new Parliament was elected. From exile, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda (1660), promising an amnesty to opponents (except those directly responsible for the execution of Charles I), payment of the arrears in the army's wages, and religious toleration. He was invited by a new Parliament to resume the throne. The term Restoration is often extended to the period following 1660, and is especially associated with a flowering of English literature, notably in Restoration drama. In French history, it refers to the restoration of the Bourbons (1814–30) after the defeat of Napoleon.

restoration In the NT the concept is of putting things in order. John the Baptist (in the role of the new Elijah) has done that (Mark 9: 12), in the sense of having accomplished his mission successfully. The writer to the Hebrews (Heb. 13: 19) hopes to be ‘restored’ to the readers, either by being released from prison, or perhaps by a simple return visit.

The idea of a ‘universal restoration’ (Acts 3: 21) when God will re-establish the whole cosmos to its initial state of perfection (Rom. 8: 21) is expressed in terms of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21: 1) and the salvation of all (Rom. 5: 18).

Restoration. The re-establishment of the Stuart Monarchy in Great Britain and Ireland in 1660, so the period following this event, later in the reign of King Charles II (1660–85) referred to as the Carolean period. Restoration architecture was strongly influenced by Continental fashion, the dominant style being Baroque derived from French and Netherlandish precedents. Typical Restoration buildings were the symmetrical houses of Pratt and Hugh May, the grander works of Talman, and the great contribution of Wren, whose chief sources were French and Italian.

restoration. Process of carrying on alterations and repairs to a building with the intention of restoring it to its original form, often involving reinstatement of missing or badly damaged parts, so it usually includes replication, that is new work in an old style. While often necessary after a disaster, it is generally regarded as more drastic than conservation, which suggests retention, repair, and maintenance. Wyatt's interventions at Hereford (1788–96), Salisbury (1789–92), and Durham (from 1794) Cathedrals were so ruthless that they provoked antiquarian outrage (mostly Carter's) and were later to enrage A. W. N. Pugin. Wyatville's work (1824–37) at Windsor Castle recased almost the whole ensemble, so that what we see now is virtually a creation of the Regency and William IV periods. The revival of interest in medieval ecclesiastical architecture in C19, and researches into liturgy, had a darker side, for often medieval fabric was destroyed to make the building conform to an architect-approved style (e.g. ‘Great’ Scott's ‘restoration’ of the north nave-arcade at the Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester). Many churches were stripped of C17 and C18 furnishings, often with unfortunate results. In France, Viollet-le-Duc attempted to give several medieval buildings a stylistic unity they never had, and his work at Pierrefonds, Oise (1858–70), and Carcassonne (1844 on-wards—where he rebuilt the walls and fortifications), owed more to his own creative powers than to an archaeological approach. Another drastic (though less successful) French example was Abadie's work at St-Front, Périgeux. Ruskin, Morris, Webb, and others deplored such activities, and, prompted by Scott's proposals for Tewkesbury Abbey, Glos., and drastic Italian notions of ‘restoring’ the Church of San Marco, Venice, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded in order to promote a greater sensitivity to the retention of ancient fabric. Although architects such as Boito urged that ‘restoration’ should be less comprehensive and destructive, many churches were altered to make them conform to what was regarded as their ‘original’ state: this often involved the removal of Baroque and other accretions (even whole façades) and their replacement with conjectural designs. See also reconstruction.

Bibliography

Casiello (ed.) (1996);
Chamberlin (1979);
Crook (1995);
J. Fawcett (ed.) (1976a);
Morris (1966);
Pevsner (1972);
Pugin (1841, 1843, 1973);
Ruskin (1903–12)

Restoration (1660) The re-establishment in England and Scotland of the Stuart monarchy by placing Charles II, the exiled son of Charles I, on the throne. The Restoration was accompanied by the revival of the Church of England, the growth of Cavalier fortunes (although those who had sold their estates to pay fines could not get them back), and a flourishing cultural and social life. The Restoration did not restore the absolute authority of the Stuart monarchy, as Charles II was soon to discover.

restoration The addition of nutrients to replace those lost in processing, as in milling of cereals. See also fortification.