Present State - Past Issues
Present State, our newsletter and more (named after Pugin's The Present State of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England of 1843), is edited by Judith Al-Seffar.  It appears in the spring with a variety of interesting material, including short articles, a round-up of recent news, update on buildings at risk, letters, etc.
Show/Hide List Parts
  • Present State, No. 8, January 2010

  • President’s News (Sarah Houle)
    Big Ben celebrates its 150th anniversary

  • Building News (James Jago)
    Former RC Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barnstable, Devon; • Former RC Church of Mount St Mary, Richmond Hill, Leeds, West Yorks, • RC Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, Preston, Lancs; • Thickett Priory, Thorganby, North Yorks

  • Regional reports
    Ramsgate: The Monastery; St Augustine’s church; The Grange; Ramsgate library (Catriona Blaker)
    Salisbury: RC Church of St Osmond (Peter Blacklock)
    Birmingham: Pugin, Hardman & Powell – en avant! (Michael Fisher); Aston Hall by Candlelight, 1858 (Matthew Hunter); St Chad’s Cathedral
    Staffordshire: Alton Towers (Michael Fisher)
    Lancashire: Our Lady and St Hubert’s Church, Great Harwood (Catriona Blaker)

  • The Landmark Trust (Caroline Stanford)
    St Augustine’s Church, Ramsgate
    Oxenford Gatehouse, Peper Harow

  • Auctions ‘Pugin and the Gothic Revival’ July 2009, Bonham’s Knightsbridge, London

  • Present State, No. 9, Spring 2011

  • Theme for this issue: George Myers
    George Myers, Pugin’s Rock (Patricia Spencer-Silver, Descendant)
    Childhood at Horsted Place (Elizabeth Scott)
    Related news items on George Myers

  • Building News (compiled and edited by James Jago)
    Ramsgate: RC Church of St Augustine, The Grange, Former Presbytery and St Augustine’s Monastery (Nick Dermott); RC Church of St Augustine (Fr Marcus Holden); The Grange (Catriona Blaker); The Former Presbytery St Edward’s (Katherine Oakes)
    Peper Harow, Surrey: Parish Church of St Nicholas (Nick Dermott)
    Stanbrook, Powick, Worcs: Former Abbey and Church of Our Lady of Consolation (Stewart Moore)
    Cotton, Staffs: RC Church of St Wilfred’s (James Jago)
    Childwell, Liverpool: Oswaldcroft (Timothy Brittain-Catlin)
    Ushaw, Co. Durham: RC College of St Cuthbert (James Jago)

  • Regional reports
    Birmingham: King Edward’s School: New Street Remembered (Alison Wheatley); St Chad’s Cathedral (Anne Symonds); Spotlight on Hardman & Co

  • Recent Research
    The Stained Glass Windows of John Hardman Powell (Mathé Shepheard); Parks and Gardens UK, the Pugins and George Myers (Judith Al-Seffar)

  • Obituaries
    Martin Wedgwood; Rachel Moss

  • Present State, No. 10, Autumn 2012

  • Bicentenary Issue Part One

  • Regional reports
    America: Augustus Pugin: A Bicentennial Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Thunder, Descendant); The Parks Collection – Building a Pugin Library and Finding It a New Home… (Stephen Parks)
    Isle of Wight: Weston Manor Chapel, Totland Bay (Pat Benham)
    Kent: Pugin’s Bicentenary in Ramsgate (Catriona Blaker)
    London: CAMAC Student Wallpaper Design Competition (Caroline McNamara); Pugin on Mastermind (Gareth Kingston)
    Birmingham: Pugin, Dürer and the Gothic: The Barber Institute’s Tribute to Pugin (Tamsin Foulkes); Pugin books in the Cadbury Research Library (Martin Killeen); Birmingham’s Faith Map Project (Andrew Davies); The Big Story of Augustus Pugin (Nick Corbett)
    Staffordshire: Pugin Society Weekend in Cheadle (Peter Burnett); St Joseph’s Convent, Cheadle (Julian Shaw); Pugin Heritage Centre, Cheadle (Hannah Barter); Alton Towers (Michael Fisher); Pugin’s Gold Ale (Peter Burnett)

  • Other bicentenary news
    More 2012 events; Recent Research; Four Craftsmen

  • Obituaries
    Patricia Spencer-Silver (1920-2012), Great grand-daughter of George Myers, Pugin’s Builder (John Spencer-Silver)

  • Present State, No. 11, Summer 2013

  • Bicentenary Issue Part Two

  • Regional reports
    Ireland: Professor Jim Walsh
    Cumbria: The church of Our Lady & St Wilfred, Warwick Bridge (Simon Strickland)
    Staffordshire: Cheadle, Alton and Cotton (Fr Michael Fisher); Happy Snappers, Tribute to Pugin (Angela Padget)
    Birmingham: St Chad’s Flower Festival 2013 – A Glimpse of Heaven; Parliamentarians to visit Pugin’s Legacy in Birmingham; Birmingham Heritage Forum; King Edward’s School; Pen Museum; Birmingham Oratory.
    London: CAMAC 2012 Wallpaper Competition
    Kent: The AW Pugin Bicentennial Conference – New Directions in Gothic Revival Studies Worldwide; Ramsgate – The Pugin Hub in Kent
    France: Clovis Normand (Professor Peter Blundell Jones)
    Australia: Pugin’s Contribution to Modern Quilt Design (Michelle Hill)
    New Zealand: Bishop’s House, Aukland (Nick Beveridge)
    America: An update on the Parks Collection (Stephen Parks)

  • Pugin Trails (all available on our website)
    UK: The Ramsgate Town Trail; The Birmingham Pugin Trail; The Pugin Trail around Cheadle; The UK Pugin Trail in the making
    Australia: The Pugin Trail in Tasmania
    Ireland: The County Wexford Pugin Trail

  • Book and Website Reviews; New Books

  • Present State, No. 12, Autumn 2014

  • News from the Landmark Trust (Caroline Stanford)
    St Edward’s Presbytery

  • From the Archives (Catriona Blaker)
    An Unexpected Discovery

  • Letter from New Zealand (Nick Beveridge)
    Pugin’s Plates

  • Pugin’s Descendants (compiled by Dawn Brandl, Pugin’s Great Grand-daughter)

  • Images of Pugin (Judith Al-Seffar)

  • The Pugins, the Hardmans and the Wainwrights (Brian Perkes)

  • Regional reports
    Ramsgate: Updates (Catriona Blaker)
    West Midlands: St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham (Anne Symonds); Our Lady and St Thomas Church, Dudley (Fr Emmanuel Gili-Hammett)
    Staffordshire: Alton Castle: Residential Youth Centre (Michael Fisher); Alton Towers (Michael Fisher); Cheadle Heritage and Visitor Centre (Michael Fisher)
    Warwick Bridge, Cumbria: The Church of Our Lady & St Wilfred (Simon Strickland)
    France: Clovis Normand (Professor Peter Blundell Jones)

  • Pugin Trails continued
    Designing a Pugin Trail

  • Reviews of Other Societies
    The Pre-Raphaelite Society (PRS)

  • Book and Website Reviews; New Books

  • Present State, No. 13, Winter 2015-16

  • Theme for this issue: John Scott
    The John Scott Collection
    Important Pugin Acquisition for the V&A (Max Donnelly)
    Recently Published Books: The John Scott Collection, Vol.8: Architect-Designers from Pugin to Voysey; The John Scott Collection, Vol.2: ‘Modern English’ Design from the 1860s and 1870s

  • Regional reports
    New Zealand: ‘The Brass for Mr. Leigh’ (Margaret Belcher); Pugin’s Work in Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge, UK (Nick Beveridge)
    America: Speroforum
    Spain: Pugin in Spain
    Ramsgate: Updates (Catriona Blaker)
    Staffordshire: Updates (Michael Fisher)
    Warwick Bridge, Cumbria: The Church of Our Lady & St Wilfred (Simon Strickland)
    Durham: Ushaw College (Claire Marsland)
    Ireland: Pugin in County Wexford (Aidan Ryan)

  • The Ramsgate Archive (Catriona Blaker)
    Another Discovery; Pugin and Packaging

  • Recent Visits
    St George’s Cathedral and Lambeth Palace (Peter Burnett); The 20th Anniversary of the Pugin Society: A River Trip along the Thames (June 2015)

  • Reviews
    The Collected Letters of AWN Pugin Vol. 5, 1851-1852 by Margaret Belcher (M. Fisher)

  • Links to Pugin
    Graham Greene and Nottingham Cathedral (Joanna Lyall); Pugin and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown; The Palace of Westminster & Laskett Gardens

  • Obituaries
    Jim Nancarrow; Roy Adsett; Mick Roberts

  • Recently published books and other notices

  • Present State, No. 14, Spring 2017

  • Pugin in Calcutta (Gavin Stamp)

  • Pugin at St Peter’s College, Oxford (Dr Richard Allen)

  • Regional reports
    Surrey: Albury Park
    Ramsgate: Updates (Catriona Blaker)
    Birmingham: King Edward’s School (Alison Wheatley)
    North Midlands: Updates (Michael Fisher)
    Warwick Bridge, Cumbria: The Church of Our Lady & St Wilfred (Simon Strickland)
    Durham: Ushaw (Mike Galloway)

  • From the Archives
    An Intriguing Follow Up (Catriona Blaker)

  • Links to Pugin
    County Garden Trusts; Our Lady and St Michaels Church, Shipston-on-Stour (Fr Brian Doolan)

  • In Tribute to Pugin:
    Gleanings Regarding the Company of Thomas Thomason (active 1850-1901) (Joyce Dean)

  • Book Reviews
    Treasures of Ushaw College, Durham’s Hidden Gem – Edited by James E. Kelley (Roderick O’Donnell)

  • Obituaries
    Margaret Belcher (1936-2016), A Tribute from the Pugin Society (Catriona Blaker); Peter Blundell Jones (1949-2016) – a full obituary will appear in the next journal

  • Recently published books, 2017 events and other notices

View cover page from Past Editions
Back copies of Present State, along with other Society Publications, are available
for purchase in our BOOKSHOP