True Principles - Past Issues

True Principles, the Pugin Society Journal, is named after one of Augustus Pugin's greatest works - The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841) - in which he outlines his architectural theories, showing firmly that it is in the Gothic style that these theories can best be exemplified. True Principles appears once a year, in the summer. It is a well presented and attractively illustrated journal, filled with interesting articles and features on many Pugin-related subjects, by a whole range of writers. We are anxious to encourage debate on Pugin topics and submissions are welcome.  It is edited by John Elliott.

• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 1


Pugin in Ramsgate As part of the 'Unlocking the Past' programme put together by Kent Heritage Services Group and to accompany Pugin in Kent, a series of special events was arranged to illustrate Pugin's love of Ramsgate... (Penny Ward)


What is a Pugin? 'What exactly is a Pugin?', I was asked by a Ramsgate resident during the preparations for the Pugin in Kent exhibition at the Library Gallery in September [1996]. It was a potent reminder of the degree to which one of Ramgate's most famous sons, the creator of the Victorian Gothic style, remains largely obscure and without honour in his home town... (John Brazier)


Pugin and the Great Exhibition On Saturday 25th November, the first Pugin Society lecture was given, by Jean Field... [who] commenced her talk by giving a general picture of architecture in England during the run up to the Great Exhibition... (Michael Blaker)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 2


Pugin in New York - Paul Atterbury is an historian and writer specialising in the decorative and applied arts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and is a former editor of the Connoisseur. He was largely responsible for setting up Pugin: A Gothic Passion at the V & A in 1994, and, with Clive Wainwright, edited, and contributed to, the publication of the same name which accompanied this exhibition. He also, with Rosemary Hill, masterminded Pugin in Kent at Ramsgate in 1995. Since then he has, in collaboration with Susan Soros of the Bard Graduate Center, New York, mounted an exciting and innovative Pugin exhibition in America and edited the lavish catalogue A.W.N. Pugin, Master of Gothic Revival published for this exhibition. In this summer's True Principles he writes about the New York Pugin show, giving many interesting insights into its make-up and themes. (Paul Atterbury)


A.W.N. Pugin and Modern Architecture - Nick announced his talk as "a personal romp through the century" – roughly from Pugin to today. We were shown slides from the etchings in Contrasts – the meaning was still entirely clear in Pugin's satire, "as opposed to the cartoons from Punch at that time, which seem to us totally obscure". Contrasts was a vicious attack on society as a world no longer beautiful but solely commercial: "Something was wrong with a society that made bad objects". The slide of the castellated villa etching, with its conservatory – Pugin's classic joke – was likened to Wemmick's father's house: Dickens was soon on to this kind of satire, indeed, Nick pointed out that in the 19th century you could leave the builder to get on with five plans and a couple of nicely tinted watercolour views of the proposed building and little other information: "Imagine that happening today!" (Michael Blaker)


Pugin's Boats - Pugin's lifelong love of the sea, and sailing, and particularly his nautical life at Ramsgate, are described here. Footnote No 13 gives unusual Pugin information! (David Meara)


St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate - Ever since our Apostle's advent there in A.D. 597, the historic Isle of Thanet has been associated with the black-robed sons of St. Benedict and today St Augustine's Abbey at Ramsgate is of special interest, both past and present. For its Minster is "Pugin's gem" as well as his last resting place while the monastery itself is a spiritual restoration of Canterbury's famous Benedictine Abbey.


What is a Pugin? - These thoughts are prompted by John Brazier's article with the same title in the first issue of True Principles. ' Here I would like to consider 'What is a Pugin?' in the sense of whether a certain building, object or design is or is not the work of A. W. Pugin, whether it is merely in his style, or whether it could be the work of his father, A. C. Pugin (c.1769) or one of his sons, E. W. Pugin (1834), C. W. Pugin (1840) or P. P. Pugin (1851). Now that Pugin – and when in True Principles the word is used on its own I think we can assume that A. W. Pugin is meant – is increasingly well known, there is clearly a strong tendency for people to want to associate with the glamour of his name all sorts of work which does not really belong there. (Alexandra Wedgwood)


The Grange - We have asked Charlotte Haslam, historian to the Landmark Trust, to write us a piece elucidating the work and policies of Landmark within the context of The Grange. The Committee of the Pugin Society supports the Landmark Trust in its endeavours to purchase - we feel that the Trust would be a very caring and responsible owner, and is appropriate, for the reasons given in Charlotte's exposition. However, we feel also that access to The Grange, both for our members and for others, is vital (ie, not only for those staying there) and we would hope to negotiate this point both with Thanet District Council and with the Landmark Trust should this purchase come to fruition. In the meantime, as you will see, thought, expertise, help and suggestions are all needed. Please write with any comments on this very important matter to the Secretary, or Chairman, of the Pugin Society. (Charlotte Haslam)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 3


An Unscheduled Visit to Abney Hall - John Purkis takes us on a trip round a Mancunian residence with Puginian associations and shows, incidentally, what may be achieved (in terms of visits) by a mention of the Pugin Society. (John Purkis)


Puginian Expatriate Extraordinary - Sir John Sutton, Bart (1820) - The ghostly figure of Sir John Sutton which you see on this page has a particular, and perhaps surprising, relevance to this lively article about a unique Puginian figure. (Mary Dittrich)


St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate - This pleasantly leisured piece follows on from the extract in our last issue, and is all part of The Catholic Fireside, a turn of the century publication. (Dudley Baxter)


George Myers - Architects have, in the past, often perhaps received more plaudits than their builders. The partnership of Pugin and Myers, however, was a very special one. Patricia Spencer-Silver explains why. (Patricia Spencer-Silver)


Pugin's Caroline - In this issue Robin Craig gives us a precision account of the history of the celebrated Caroline, both during and after Pugin's lifetime. What happened to her after 1870? Maybe we shall never know. (Robin Craig)


The Death of AWN Pugin - In this perceptive and sensitive article the Revd. David Meara discusses the ill-health and psychological problems which dogged Pugin throughout his life. (David Meara)


The Expedition to Cheadle - A few comments from Michael Blaker on the Society's never-to-be-forgotten trip to Cheadle. (Michael Blaker)


St Augustine's, Ramsgate, as a Kentish church
Lecture given in Ramsgate in 1996 [published separately from True Principles].
John Hardman Powell, Pugin's only pupil and husband of his eldest daughter, in his delightful memoir Pugin in his home roundly declares: 'St Augustine's is a thorough Thanet church, a natural growth of the locality'. We all, I am sure, feel this to be true, even if we cannot come up with any very explicit reason beyond the one that Powell himself mentions, that it is faced with flint, a material which occurs naturally in the chalk substructure of the Island, and indeed is readily visible in its cliffs. Today I want to examine St Augustine's as a 'thorough Thanet church' not only in physical terms, but also in what for Pugin himself may have been spiritual terms also. (John Newman)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 4


Pugin and Morris - On May 22nd the Pugin Society enjoyed an interestingly illustrated lecture comparing these two giants given by John Purkis at Ramsgate Library. We include here some quotes, and comments on points made. (Michael Blaker)


Masters of the Gothic Revival: The Pugins in Ireland - Pugin's great great granddaughter gives a lively description of a tour of Pugin sites in Ireland. Led by Dr Roderick O'Donnell and Maggi Morris, April 1997. (Sarah Houle)


St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate - This pleasantly leisured piece follows on from the extract in our last issue, and is all part of the Catholic Fireside, a turn of the century publication. (Dudley Baxter)


The Granville Hotel, Ramsgate - Nick Dermott, architect, conservation officer, and Chairman of the Pugin Society has written a short piece for True Principles about the present state of this remarkable building. In order to heighten the contrast between what is, and what has been, we have pleasure in reprinting as an addition to Nick's comments some extracts from the Granville Illustrated News, a grandiose publication indeed. (Nick Dermott)


Pugin on the Internet - Some most interesting statistics are emerging from Victoria and Mike Farrow's acclaimed Pugin web site — up to three hundred people a week are looking at this site (WWW. HUBCOM.COM/PUGIN), and these three hundred people are viewing ten pages of text or pictures each, approximately.


Random Reflections - Chapter 2 of Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust begins: 'Between the villages of Hetton and Compton Last lies the extensive park of Hetton Abbey. This, formerly one of the notable houses of the county, was entirely rebuilt in 1864 in the Gothic style and is now devoid of interest...'


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 5


The Pugins and the De Lisles - We are delighted that the Squire de Lisle, the great grandson of one of Augustus Pugin's greatest friends and allies, Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps de Lisle, should be contributing to this issue of True Principles. Here he presents us - from the inside - with some valuable material regarding the Pugin/Phillipps connection. In his last paragraph, the Squire de Lisle has modestly refrained from referring directly to himself, but it is obvious that he has in fact dedicated a lifetime to recovering the de Lisle archives - what an achievement! (The Squire de Lisle)


Birmingham "The Most Artistic City In England?" - It was the excitement generated by Roy Hartnell's book Pre-Raphaelite Birmingham, from which the above quotation is taken, that took us to the city for our summer excursion. Our theme was AWN Pugin's relationship with John Hardman and we saw many results of this fruitful collaboration... (Judith Crocker)


An A.W.N. Pugin Gazetteer: The Seed of a Great Work? - Zealous member Jack Kleinot has applied himself to the praiseworthy, if problematic, task of collating and enumerating A.W.N. Pugin sites throughout England. Such a list, which could form the basis for an even more expanded one (ie, Scotland, Wales and Australia) could become an invaluable introduction for newly initiated Pugin enthusiasts. In the meantime, we publish it here both for your comments, possible additions, and potential use. Anyone attempting a gazetteer of this complexity could not possibly refrain from acknowledging a primary debt to Nikolaus Pevsner's definitively pioneering Buildings of England series, and this Jack does, below. In undertaking this task, Jack has reflected the views of at least three other of our members - Brian Andrews, who has already suggested contributing Australian entries, albeit in a rather more detailed format, John Purkis, who feels that we could, like Pevsner, eventually produce a county by county series (exclusively Pugins, though), and Jeremy Hewett, of Ramsgate. Jack has, of necessity here, kept entries very brief. In his introduction he tells us how he came to decide which sites warranted inclusion - a far from straightforward business. (Jack Kleinot)


St Patrick's, Parramatta, another Pugin Australian Design - In this article, Brian Andrews, Pugin expert resident in Australia, relates how he has identified another Pugin church design in New South Wales. Brian is currently undertaking a cultural survey of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hobart, which should yield some fascinating Pugin discoveries. (Brian Andrews, 1997)


St Lawrence Church, Tubney - On 16th February 1997 a service was held at St Lawrence Church, Tubney, to celebrate its 150th Anniversary (as we announced in the last issue but one of True Principles). This was a very special occasion, and the Abingdon Herald reported that the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Richard Harries, recreated for the packed congregation some of the local events of 1847 - in particular how a small fire broke out in the then Bishop of Oxford's palace at Cuddesdon while he was consecrating the church at Tubney. For us, of course, the significance of St Lawrence is that it was designed by A.W.N. Pugin, and built by George Myers, despite its being an Anglican church. The Revd Keith Triplow, Rector of St Lawrence, has sent us the following fascinating material relating to the commencement of building in 1844. (Keith Triplow, Rector)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 6


The Lord Chancellor's Apartment: a personal view - The ceaseless press coverage on the subject of the redecoration of the Lord Chancellor's apartment at the Palace of Westminster has probably given Pugin's name the greatest prominence to the general public that it has ever had, and for this the Pugin Society is very grateful. A great number of important issues, like the use of public money and conservation policies, are involved in this matter, but here I would like to put down something of my understanding of the history of the apartment and my reaction to the results of the recent work...


The Grange, Ramsgate - On 14th February 1998, members of The Pugin Society were allowed, by kind permission of the Landmark Trust, to see inside The Grange. Those who attended may have been saddened by the condition of the property, which has suffered many years of neglect. It is to be hoped that the Landmark Trust, as the new owners, can be supported and encouraged in their plans to repair the fabric and convert the house to a Landmark property, so that others can experience this historic and important building for many years to come. (Donald Insall Associates, Architects acting for the Landmark Trust at The Grange.)


Pugin's Miniatures - David Meara explores a more intimate aspect of A.W.N.P's work. (David Meara)


Ramsgate Cemetery Chapel: Homage to Pugin? - "In ecclesiology... we must raise the cry of Back to Pugin," wrote Dr John Wickham Legg, the liturgiologist, in 1887, "to the principles which Pugin advocated..." And this cry — Back to Pugin — can serve to characterise the direction English architecture took after the experimental High Victorian Gothic phase... (Gavin Stamp)


St John the Baptist, Melton Mowbray - Graham Hulme and Brian Buchanan discuss a Leicestershire Church with interesting Pugin links.


"Prest D'accomplir": Pugin and the Earl of Shrewsbury - A unique relationship discussed by Michael Fisher.


A Remarkable Pugin Tombstone - Brian Andrews, our man in Australia, tells a curious tale...


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 7


Leicestershire Trip 9th July 1998 - Vice-Chairman Judith Crocker reminisces about the Society's annual trip. (Judith Crocker)


Pugin and Catholic London: An Early Divorce? - We are happy to be publishing the first half of a paper given by Rory O'Donnell to the Pugin Society AGM 25 Octotober 1997 at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. Look out for the second instalment in our next issue. (Rory O'Donnell)


Pugin in Yorkshire or: Leeds reconsidered - A visit to Leeds by the Hon. Sec. naturally involved visiting Pugin sites there, including the A.W.N.P. reredos in the Lady Chapel of St Anne's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Macduff Derick's St Saviour's (regrettably closed) for the glass, and, spectacularly, the sad shell of Mount St Mary's nearby. Finally, E.W.P.'s Meanwood Towers was (with some difficulty) discovered. What a splendidly grandiose and sumptuous building this must originally have been. According to Conservation Officer Phil Ward of Leeds Department of Planning, the grim history of St Mary's may be going to take a turn for the better. Here are Phil's comments on the Towers and St Mary's. (Phil Ward)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 8


Pugin and Sir Gilbert Scott - We are very grateful to Gavin Stamp for sending us, unbidden, this piece about Pugin, Sir Gilbert Scott, and the great Memorial, this last now happily in such a fine state again. Scott's moving and generous defence of his hero, in particular, makes revealing reading. (Gavin Stamp)


Pugin as Businessman - True Principles is delighted that Jim Thunder, a great great grandson of Augustus Pugin and Jane Knill, has contributed to this issue. He has done much missionary work in the USA and Canada on behalf of his great forebear in the form of lectures etc, and, like A.W.N.P., is a person of multi-faceted talents. Here, his experiences as a business consultant lead him to look at Pugin as entrepreneur. His contemporary approach to analysis and methodology have led him to come up with some clear and interesting conclusions. (Jim Thunder)


Edward Pugin and St Augustine's Grange, Ramsgate - At a time when discussion with the Landmark Trust over the future of The Grange is reaching a crucial point, Dr Roderick O'Donnell discusses Edward Pugin's architectural input to the house and related buildings, and his social and family connections with it. (Dr Roderick O'Donnell)


An Australian Pugin Church Restored - Brian Andrews has some encouraging news about a delightful small Pugin church in Brisbane. (Brian Andrews)


Pugin at The D'orsay - Gothic Revival: Architecture et arts dÈcoratifs de L'Angleterre Victorienne - Sarah Houle, the great great granddaughter of Augustus Pugin and Anne Garnet, and already known to readers of True Principles, acts here as our on the spot reporter on the recent 'Gothic Revival', a fine exhibition in France. As she says, "Any excuse for a trip to Paris is always welcome and a Pugin exhibition seemed better than most." (Sarah Houle)


West Cliff Lodge. Or: An Architectural Wooing -Rosemary Hill tells the poignant story of a very unusual Ramsgate porch and its surprising connection with A.W.N.Pugin. (Rosemary Hill)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 9


Clive Wainwright, 1942 - Clive Wainwright was a major figure in the study of the decorative arts, especially those of nineteenth century Britain and America, and the gap left by his sudden and tragic death on July 2nd, at the age of 57 is correspondingly great. His knowledge of Pugin's work was impressive and the Pugin Society will certainly miss the wise and helpful advice he always made available to it. (Alexandra Wedgwood)


Pugin's Glossary at the Antipodes - Brian Andrews comes up with some surprising information re uses of designs in Pugin's great compendium. (Brian Andrews)


The Pugin Society in Liverpool, Summer 1999 - Michael Blaker re-lives those summer days up North in words and line. (Michael Blaker)


Pugin and Catholic London: an early divorce? II - This is the second half of the paper Rory O'Donnell gave at the Pugin Society AGM 25 October 1997 at Southwark Cathedral; for the first half see True Principles, Winter 1998/1999. (Rory O'Donnell)


The Pugin Coat of Arms - Alexandra Wedgwood is the bearer of some interesting tidings concerning some hitherto more uncertain elements in the story of the Pugin family's descent. (Alexandra Wedgwood)


Gorton Monastery – Probably E. W. Pugin's Finest - If at first you don't succeed ... hats off to Elaine Griffiths, who keeps us up to date with the scenario at Gorton. (Elaine Griffiths)


• True Principles, Vol. 1 No. 10


Debtor to ... - Margaret Belcher reports on what must be a previously unknown area of research springing from the Hardman Archive in Birmingham. (Margaret Belcher)


Edward Pugin's Kentish Obituary - Rory O'Donnell, advancing the cause of the sometimes misunderstood but prolific eldest son of A.W.N.Pugin, writes on the obituary of Edward Pugin in Ramgate's local newspaper. (Rory O'Donnell)


Pugin in Rural Surrey - The Society's day trip to Surrey was held on 10th June. The summer tour to Hereford and Worcester took place between 13th and 16th July. Next year the summer tour will be to Belgium. (Michael Blaker)


Patrick Charles Keely - The Keely Society is dedicated to the art and architecture of Patrick Charles Keely, the most prolific church architect in America. The aim of the Keely Society is one of Education, History and Preservation for the future of Keely's treasured legacy. The Society acts as a repository of information to those who seek information on this great architect. It is open to all. The foundation of the Keely Society came about as the monumental Keely Church of St Peter in Lowell, MA, 1892, had begun demolition. Its founder and president is Edward H. Furey, an art instructor in a Catholic school in Enfield, CT. Mr. Furey is a member of the Enfield Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Enfield Historical Society Board. He has appeared as an expert witness at Landmark Hearings. The Society has given numerous presentations and exhibitions in the Northeast of the United States on the works of Patrick Charles Keely. The First Annual Keely Congress took place on May 20th 2000 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, MA. Here Edward Furey tells us about the great man. (Edward Furey)


'A Flint Seaside Church': St Augustine's Abbey Church Ramsgate - Libby Horner and Gill Hunter with a foreword by Lady Wedgwood (The Pugin Society, Ramsgate, 2000. ISBN 0 953857301) £5.00. (Review by Rory O'Donnell)


Was George Myers a Cradle Catholic? - In a footnote to an article in the Winter 1999 number of True Principles, Dr Rory O'Donnell comments that I am non-committal on the point of Myers' religion. He is presumably referring to my book Pugin's Builder: the Life and Work of George Myers, 1993. The reason for this is quite simple — despite extensive research, I do not know whether Myers was born a Catholic or not... (Patricia Spencer-Silver)


• True Principles, Vol. 2 No. 1


Forget the Millennium, the Society is looking towards 2002 - Chairman Nick Dermott reports.


Michael Trappes-Lomax - Anthony Symondson SJ writes evocatively about a likeable and idiosyncratic personality and his excellent, but perhaps too little read, biography of A.W.Pugin. (Anthony Symondson SJ)


In the Shadow of Fonthill — Pugin's Early Years at Alton Towers - Is it possible that Pugin could have been influenced at the Towers by 'the villain Wyatt', as he refers to him? (Michael Fisher)


Some Stray Notes on Art - John Hardman Powell, 1827-1895, is known to many Pugin enthusiasts and scholars both for his apprenticeship, as it were, to A.W.N. Pugin, and for the fact that he married Pugin's daughter, Anne, in 1850. His affectionate and sympathetic portrayal of A.W.N.P., to whom he always acknowledged his great debt — 'Pugin in his home ' — has also become familiar to many. Less often discovered is Some Stray Notes on Art, published in 1889, his lectures to students at the Birmingham School of Art. Powell became chief designer for Hardman & Co in Birmingham after Pugin's death in 1852, producing, over a considerable period of time, beautiful stained glass, jewellery and metalwork; he therefore would have had much of value to impart to students. Whilst he had securely ingested all that his master had taught him, he gradually evolved an approach of his own to design, lighter and more attenuated than that of Pugin perhaps; in a sense less 'masculine', but attractively graceful and flowing.
In his writing, Powell talks to us very directly, and with a certain artlessness, if we may use that word in this context, which has a charm all its own; we have therefore reproduced the first lecture 'Art Practical', verbatim, despite one or two comments in it which may seem unexpected in today's climate, and with its own rather startling paragraphing and punctuation. It is most interesting to note Pugin's influence on him — the Revival itself, truth to materials, honesty of structure, the use of symbolism in craft, or 'Conventionality' as Powell calls it, and, in particular, the structure of the medieval English parish church — all these and more are covered. There is much food for thought. Are there not also, perhaps, undertones of Ruskin here too? (John Hardman Powell)


The Bergh Memorial Library - Father John Seddon OSB records the development of the library at St Augustine's Monastery, Ramsgate. (Father John Seddon OSB)


Society Sorties -
Pugin Pastoral 2000 - Michael Blaker recalls our trip to the Shires
Millennium Sketching Day: a Society Sortie - 'Of the thousands upon thousands of sketches in pencil, ink, sepia and colour, from Churches and their "treasures", boats, landscapes, etc, there is not one has not the truth value of a Photograph with the art glamour of the man added.' John Hardman Powell, on Pugin's watercolours and drawings, in: 'Pugin in his home', 1889. (Catriona Blaker)


• True Principles, Vol. 2 No. 2


The Grange: Current State of Play - Pugin Society Chairman Nick Dermott gives us a resume of the evolution of The Grange and considers the Landmark Trust's proposals for the alteration and refurbishment of the building and their current planning application to Thanet District Council.


Benjamin Ferrey, 1810 - Following Anthony Symondson's article on Michael Trappes-Lomax in the last issue of True Principles, Rosemary Hill gives a lively account of Pugin's first and seminal, if controversial, biographer, the architect Benjamin Ferrey. (Rosemary Hill)


Sampson Kempthorne and the Gothic Revival in New Zealand - John Butler and Renatus Kempthorne tell the interesting story of a sometimes unlucky architect-emigrant.


A Pugin Rediscovered? - New uses for a Pugin chantry – here Anthony Barnes develops an interesting theory regarding the sanctuary of the church of All Saints, Santon, in Norfolk. (Anthony Barnes)


Pugin and Glasgow - An unexpected photographic find prompts Gavin Stamp into reflecting on the clash of architectural principles between Classicists and Goths, as represented respectively by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and Augustus Pugin. (Gavin Stamp)


Edward Pugin and the English College in Rome - Carol Richardson describes E.W.Pugin's not altogether happy connection with the building of a new church.
The Venerable English College, or English College at Rome, established as a seminary in 1579 for the training of priests to send back to Protestant England, was part of the cultural landscape of the society into which the Pugin family had entered with the conversion of Augustus Pugin in 1835... (Carol Richardson)


Some Stray Notes on Art - In part one of the second of John Hardman Powell's lectures to students at Birmingham School of Art he discusses what he calls 'Art Imitative'. He covers much ground, revealing some interesting priorities en route. There are a number of points here which we felt might need further elucidation, so endnotes have been added, and the text has been slightly reduced in length. Punctuation, etc, are Powell's own.


Crace Albums at Auction - A report by Rosemary Hill


• True Principles, Vol. 2 No. 3


A.W.N. Pugin and Nodier's Normandy - Timothy Brittain-Catlin gives new and stimulating insight into some hitherto unconsidered influences – architectural, literary and pyschological – on the young Pugin. (Timothy Brittain-Catlin)


Hardman Metalwork Folios from Birmingham - Roderick O'Donnell describes some remarkable archival material. A collection of random sheets, removed from their fire-damaged settings when the Hardman & Co works in Newhall Hill, Birmingham was burnt out in 1970, was recently inspected in London. Some of the most interesting to this writer are described and illustrated here; others have been identified and commented on by Lady Wedgwood, for whose insights I am, as usual, most grateful... (Roderick O'Donnell)


Thomas Larkins Walker: The Chamberlaine Almshouses, Bedworth, Warwickshire - A promising early work by a pupil of Auguste Charles Pugin attracts the attention of Rosemary Hill.


J.A. Pippet and Hardman, Powell & Company - William Covington takes a closer look at a hitherto neglected figure. Almost a century has passed since the death of Joseph Aloysius Pippet (1841-1903). His career as designer and decorator with Hardman, Powell & Company of Birmingham has been, to a great extent, overlooked... (William Covington)


Some Stray Notes on Art - In this issue we publish part two of John Hardman Powell's second lecture, 'Art Imitative', and join him as he gradually climbs with us — to use his own metaphor — from the foothills of art and craft towards the high peaks, where 'the air is fuller of noble and ascetic thought'. As usual, we would remind readers that grammar, punctuation and spelling are J.H.P's own, and we have also added a few endnotes.


Going Full Tilt - Alexandra Wedgwood discusses The Collected Letters of A.W.N. Pugin, volume I, 1830-1842, edited by Margaret Belcher, Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0 19817391 1.


Society Sorties -
Ramsgate: A.W.N.P. Letters Launch - Michael Blaker
London: Pugin and Comper - James Jago recalls a memorable day.


Ramsgate Cemetery — A Furious Footnote - Gavin Stamp on contentious matters in Edward Pugin's Ramsgate.


• True Principles, Vol. 2 No. 4


Pugin's Tabernacle in Southwark Cathedral - Alexandra Wedgwood investigates the history of an outstanding and much-debated Pugin item.
This beautiful object has been exhibited in two immensely influential places, the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and also in the Victorian Church Art exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum from November 1971 to January 1972. Two major questions about it remain unsolved: first, did Pugin design it for his own church of St. Augustine, Ramsgate, and, secondly, how did it get to its present home in Southwark Cathedral?... (Alexandra Wedgwood)


Ambonoclasm Redeemed - 'Some cleave, some pierce, some shout, and with one great crash it totters and falls' as Pugin wrote of a much earlier Rood screen. Happily, the consequences for his great screen at St Chad's, Birmingham have not been so dire – although it was a near thing – as Gavin Stamp's account describes.


A Pugin Drawing? - An unusual drawing prompts Rosemary Hill to ponder questions of attribution and to seek comment.
The pen and ink drawing of two sections through a chantry chapel that appears here as Fig 1 has, so far as I am aware, never been published before. It is unsigned, there is no watermark in the paper and there was no clue to its origins when it was brought to my attention some eighteen months ago beyond a pencilled note in an unidentified hand that read, laconically enough, 'by Pugin'. Is it? If so, when might it have been made and for what purpose?
In this bumper edition of True Principles it seems worth setting out my thoughts in the hope of eliciting suggestions from other Society members... (Rosemary Hill)


August Martin, 'the only man that makes Gothic living' - Antoine Jacobs recounts the life of German Revivalist artist, August Martin, and solves a long-standing mystery in the Pugin Chantry, Ramsgate, a chantry particularly significant to us in this issue.


Pugin: A Godly Man? - James (Jim) Thunder, a great great grandson of Augustus Pugin and Jane Knill, has presented us with an original and thought-provoking theme indeed – should Pugin be canonized? Because this is a long article, and this is a tightly packed issue, we are just giving you a taster of what is to come from James in our next number. (James (Jim) Thunder)


'The Good Style at the Antipodes' - Margaret Belcher explains how Pugin and his ideals influenced architecture and society in New Zealand.


No 'maimed rites': the Funeral Obsequies of the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury - For elaboration and expenditure there was clearly no comparison between the funerals of Ophelia – see Roderick O'Donnell's quote from Hamlet above - and that of the Earl of Shrewsbury, which he describes here. (Roderick O'Donnell)


Mrs Jane Pugin and some London Relations - Michael Egan is the bearer of new information about Jane Pugin and Catholic society in the Greenwich area, and also describes the close interconnections between the Knills, the Pugins and the Powells. For a fine painting of Jane, see our back cover. (Michael Egan)


Hardman's Stained Glass and the Transfer from Pugin to Powell - Stanley Shepherd looks at a period of transition at the firm of Hardman & Co.


St Peter's Chapel, Alton Towers - How Pugin waved a magic wand over the Earl of Shrewsbury's early nineteenth-century Gothick chapel in Staffordshire is the subject of Michael Fisher's article for this issue of True Principles.


It All Melts Away: AWN Pugin in Oxford - Timothy Brittain- Catlin looks at some A.W.N.P. proposals in Oxford, and wonders just how much of a functionalist Pugin really was.


The Right Thing at the Antipodes - Brian Andrews considers the approach to Puginian Gothic in Australia, finally focussing on an outstandingly 'pure' example of Pugin's work in Tasmania.


As I Was Going To St Ives - A report by John Purkis on the curious and somewhat puzzling history of an A.W.Pugin church, which began its life in Cambridge. Comment from members who know this church, or who intend to go and see it, would be welcome.


Society Sorties -
The Pugin Society in Catholic and Gothic Brugge: 25th October 2001 - Report by John Irving on the Society's first foray to the continent.


• True Principles, Vol. 2 No. 5


SESQUICENTENIAL ROUNDUP
Pugin Commemorations in the Midlands - Michael Fisher brings members news of the multifarious happenings during 2002 in Staffordshire and Birmingham.
Pugin in the Antipodes - and we went too! - David Houle, husband of our President Sarah Houle, Pugin's great-great-granddaughter, reports on the epic visit down under, in Part One of our Australian coverage.
Pugin in the Antipodes - and we went too! Part Two - Sandra Wedgwood takes up the tale...
Ramsgate Remembers - An account from the Pugin heartlands by your Thanet reporter.


Some Stray Notes On Art - In this article we finally bid a regretful goodbye to John Hardman Powell, who now leads his students on an exciting and inspiring climb to the very summit of their studies ‚ 'Art Theoretic'. As before, the text has been somewhat reduced in length, and punctuation and spelling, etc, are Powell's own.


A Forgotten Episode in the History of St Augustine's, Ramsgate - Peter Howell helps to fill in what was perhaps a grey area in our knowledge of these key buildings.


The Hardman Legacy - Sister Barbara Jeffery recounts the life and good deeds in Birmingham of members of the Hardman family.


Pugin: A Godly Man? - Pugin? A saint? Following on from his introductory piece in our last True Principles, Jim Thunder makes out an impassioned case in defence of his great-great- grandfather's perhaps unconventional, yet no less convincing, credentials for possible canonization. Note: All references, unless as numbered below, are from J.H. Powell, Pugin in his home, 1889, edited by Alexandra Wedgwood and republished in Architectural History, vol. 31, 1988, reprinted in 1994.


A Pugin Link with New Zealand‚ The Benedictine Bishop - Nick Beveridge closes the Gothic gap between Ramsgate and Auckland, in an unexpected and interesting manner.


Scarisbrick Hall - A recently discovered series of nineteenth-century photographs sheds fresh light on the complicated history of Scarisbrick Hall, Lancashire, a house on which both A.W.N. and E.W.W. Pugin worked. Rosemary Hill discusses a selection of the pictures, published here for the first time. They are albumen prints of c1872‚3. The photographer's identity is, at present, unknown. For information regarding the present condition of the Hall, see 'Buildings at Risk', on page 41.


Some Little-Known Pugin Houses - Reportage from Timothy Brittain-Catlin keeps us au fait with some of the latest Pugin discoveries.


The Significance of Architectural Style at Mount St Bernard Abbey - Brian Andrews describes the reasons behind Pugin's approach to design at this most important Leicestershire Monastery.


• True Principles, Vol. 3 No. 1


A.W.N. Pugin and Durer: print collecting and inspiration - by Jack Hinton.


Some sources of A.W.N. Pugin's chalice designs - by Brian Andrews.


E.W. Pugin and the Grange: some reflections - by Catriona Blaker.


The Oscott College chapel Sedes sapientiae and the east window, Church of the Sacred Heart, Henley-on-Thames - by Roderick O'Donnell
The Pugin Society was one of the successful appellants (June 2003) against the proposal to dismantle the high altar in Henley church. Roderick O'Donnell was member of the Diocese of Birmingham Historic Churches Committee (2000-3) and of the Committee of the Pugin Society (2000-3).


Seel's Building, Church Street, Liverpool - by Joseph Sharples.


St Joseph's, Ansdell - by James Jago.


'So very Anglo-Saxon': cisalpines, goths, and Anglo-Saxon - by J.A. Hilton.


Gothic horror versus gothic revival: Protestant visions of Roman Catholic society - by Andrew Rudd.


• True Principles, Vol. 3 No. 2


A.W.N. Pugin and William Warrington at Oscott - by Alexandra Wedgwood.


Abney Hall, Cheshire and the Great Sideboard Mystery - by Michael Fisher.


'I don't think it much matters who is a bishop': A.W.N. Pugin and the bishops - by David Meara.


E.W. Pugin, Sclerder and Gorton - by Michael Egan
At the conclusion of the annual general meeting of the Pugin Society in October 2004, Mrs Elaine Griffiths spoke about progress with the Pugin Centre in the shell of Gorton Monastery. A questioner asked how E.W. Pugin became involved in the building of the friary and church in the 1860s.


Pulling out a few stops: E.W. Pugin and organ cases - by Catriona Blaker.


'A pleasing old-time appearance': P.P. Pugin and St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide - by Brian Andrews.


Pugin, James Mabey, and the architectural models of the Palace of Westminster - by Mark Collins.


'From a Georgian monstrosity into a Constantinopolitan basilica' ‚ and back again?: the current treatment of Victorian alterations to Georgian churches - by Peter Howell.


• True Principles, Vol. 3 No. 3


A.W.N. Pugin's concept of 'propriety' - and what might lie behind it - by Peter Blundell Jones.


'I will write and exhort and denounce': A.W.N. Pugin and An earnest address, on the establishment of the hierarchy (1851) - by David Meara.


'To revive, not invent'!: A.W.N. Pugin and conservation at the Palace of Westminster - by Mark Collins.


The Church of St. Francis of Assisi, (1866-1885), Gorton, Manchester - by Roderick O'Donnell.


Aspects of Hardman's Glass Studio practice in the late 1860s - by Brian Andrews.


• True Principles, Vol. 3 No. 4


Sir Walter Scott and the Pugins: some reflections - by Catriona Blaker.


Burton Manor: the Staffordshire 'Grange' - by Michael Fisher.


God's Architect: a review - by Margaret Belcher.


Pugin remembered: then and now - by Graham Parry.


The E.W. Pugin gazetteer - by Gerard Hyland.


• True Principles, Vol. 3 No. 5


Gothic identity and inheritance in the year of Contrasts: John Joseph Scoles, the Jesuits and Saint Ignatius, Preston (1833-6) - by James Jago.


A.W.N. Pugin and Viscount Feilding - by Rosemary Hill.


E.W. Pugin's junior seminary at Ushaw (1857-9) and H.W. Brewer's birdseye view - by Roderick O'Donnell.


Cuypers: the middle ages in the nineteenth century - Ida Jager.


The E.W. Pugin gazetteer: part 2 - by Gerard Hyland.


• True Principles, Vol. 4 No. 1


A sense of the Hibernian: Irish identity in the works of A.W.N. Pugin and E.W. Pugin - by A.O.M. Gordon.


The collected letters of A.W.N. Pugin, vol3, 1846-1848, edited by Margaret Belcher - by Timothy Brittain-Catlin.


The E.W. Pugin gazetteer: part 3 - by Gerard Hyland.


Biographies -
E. W. Pugin - by Gerard Hyland
Pierre Cuypers - by A.J.C. van Leeuwen
J.J. Scoles - by Gerard Purnell


• True Principles, Vol. 4 No. 2


The Pugins in Woolwich - by Andrew Saint.


Remedies external and visible: Pugin's health and Pugin's Gothic - by Martin Bressani and Cameron Macdonell.


A.W. N. Pugin's St Marie's Grange - by Edward Houle.


Reason and faith: A.W.N. Pugin's apprehension of the mysteries - by Ron Jelaco.


Transcending rules: A.W.N. Pugin's St Giles' at Cheadle - by Stephan Kowal.


The baptism of British government: A.W.N. Pugin's Catholic hand in the New Houses of Parliament - by Victor Simion.


A.W.N. Pugin's Grange at Ramsgate: the moral Catholic house - by Julia Webster.


The monument to Lieutenant William Fisher in Salisbury cathedral, Wiltshire - by David Meara.


• True Principles, Vol. 4 No. 3


The Pugins, Newman, and the Tridentine liturgical rubrics - by Gerard Hyland.


An E.W. Pugin altar in Dulwich - by Andrew Derrick.


The 'Fire Place in Great Hall Belmont', 1867: an E.W. Pugin proposal for Belmont House? - by Roderick O'Donnell.


J.A. Hansom and E.W. Pugin at St Wilfred, Ripon: a division of labour? - by Penelope Harris.


• True Principles, Vol. 4 No. 4


A House for Bishop Willson - by Brian Andrews.


Faith, Penitence, and Charity: Pugin, Myers and Sibthorp at St. Anne’s Bedehouses, Lincoln - by Helen Caffrey.


Alfred Luck - by Catriona Blaker.


Pugin’s Heraldic Revival - by J. A. Hilton.


• True Principles, Vol. 4 No. 5


‘a sort of alladin’: Pugin’s Letters - by Margaret Belcher.


Gothic fantastic: Parliament, Pugin, and the architecture of science - by Edward Gillin.


Anglo-American modern Gothic: A.W.N. Pugin’s impact of Ralph Adams Cram - by Ayla Lepine.


The Gothic Revival in Lancashire - by Graham Parry.


Leadership of place - by Nick Corbett.


• True Principles, Vol. 5 No. 1


The Pugin Society, 1995-2015 - by Catriona Blaker.


‘My Dear Mrs. Hibbert’ - by Margaret Belcher.


Another Pugin Discovery - by Nick Beveridge.


A. W. N. Pugin and Watts & Co. - by D. J. Gazeley.


Scott’s Model - by Margaret Belcher.

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