Present State - Past Issues
Present State, a four-page news sheet (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 our important Events List, a round-up of recent news, update on buildings at risk, letters, etc.
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  • 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

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Back copies of Present State, along with other Society Publications, are available
for purchase in our BOOKSHOP