In the early 1800s, a Gothic Revival was occurring in the churches within London city limits. The architecture was becoming popular again as the wave of religion was sweeping society. However, Evangelical Protestants initially rejected this movement because they didn't want to be associated with the Roman Catholic religion. They viewed themselves as reformed and did not want to be involved with the past actions of the Roman Catholic church. In the city, many of the churches were being reformed to gothic architecture but churches in the country were not being redesigned at all. This can be seen in Bleak House when Esther attends a church that she describes as solemn, dark, and small. This could be because of the Church of England's resistance toward the Gothic revival.

Landow, George P. “Charles L. Eastlake on Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic Resistance to the Gothic Revival.” C. L. Eastlake on Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic Resistance to the Gothic Revival (1872), 2008, www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/gothicrevival/resistance.html.