The Gothic Revival style, famously applied to the Houses of Parliament in London, developed in England during the 1830s in reaction to Neoclassicism, when critics argued that classical design was not as sacred as Gothic. Although never as popular in this country as it was in Europe, Gothic Revival was sometimes promoted for the design of picturesque cottages in the American countryside. The style was considered well-suited for heavy furniture in the front hall, where this chair from a house in Vicksburg, Mississippi, once stood.