Talks, Outings & Events
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Friday 27 April: Private Evening Visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum - ‘Irregular Whimsicality of Form and Capricious Disposition’: Soane and the Gothic
Sir John Soane and A.W.N. Pugin have long been cast as polar opposites, the latter famously parodying Soane’s idiosyncratic Classicism in the double titlepage of Contrasts. Yet Soane’s own understanding of the Gothic style, in all its permutations, was penetrating and profound. Nowhere is this appreciation for ‘the play and contrast of light and shadow … the awful and pleasing gloom’ of Gothic architecture better captured than in the basement rooms of his own Museum. Created out of wine cellars and mews buildings, the ‘Catacombs’ and ‘Sepulchral Chamber’ were designed as a setting for the more lugubrious objects in Soane’s vast collection. The highlight is the ‘Monk’s Parlour’, the residence of Soane’s alter ego, Padre Giovanni. Special access has been arranged to visit the Monk’s Yard, which contains thirteenth-century fragments from the Old Palace of Westminster, salvaged during demolition in 1822. The Pugin Society is invited to explore this side of Soane’s oeuvre in a special private evening tour led by Dr James Jago, visiting the Monk’s Yard and Parlour, and the basement level of the Museum. The tour starts at 17.30 and lasts an hour. Numbers are strictly limited. Cost: £28
Sir John Soane and A.W.N. Pugin have long been cast as polar opposites, the latter famously parodying Soane’s idiosyncratic Classicism in the double titlepage of Contrasts. Yet Soane’s own understanding of the Gothic style, in all its permutations, was penetrating and profound. Nowhere is this appreciation for ‘the play and contrast of light and shadow … the awful and pleasing gloom’ of Gothic architecture better captured than in the basement rooms of his own Museum. Created out of wine cellars and mews buildings, the ‘Catacombs’ and ‘Sepulchral Chamber’ were designed as a setting for the more lugubrious objects in Soane’s vast collection. The highlight is the ‘Monk’s Parlour’, the residence of Soane’s alter ego, Padre Giovanni. Special access has been arranged to visit the Monk’s Yard, which contains thirteenth-century fragments from the Old Palace of Westminster, salvaged during demolition in 1822. The Pugin Society is invited to explore this side of Soane’s oeuvre in a special private evening tour led by Dr James Jago, visiting the Monk’s Yard and Parlour, and the basement level of the Museum. The tour starts at 17.30 and lasts an hour. Numbers are strictly limited. Cost: £28
Friday 1 June: The Pugins at Ushaw: Study Day
The study day led by the Treasurer to the Society, Dr Mike Galloway, will look at the ecclesiastical and domestic architecture of the Pugins at Ushaw College near Durham. Architectural works include those by A.W.N.Pugin, Edward Pugin, Peter Paul Pugin, Sebastian Pugin Powell together with stained glass by A.W.N.Pugin and John Hardman Powell. We will also see church plate, metal work and vestiments by A.W.N.Pugin and John Hardman Powell.
The day starts at 10.00 with welcome and coffee, followed by a tour of the main building with its 13 chapels and side chapels, led by Alex Hall. Claire Marsland, curator at Ushaw, will then show us the superb collection of church plate, metal work and vestments designed by A.W.N.Pugin, Edward Pugin and John Hardman Powell, together with other notable Gothic revival items. After lunch in the Parlour designed by Edward Pugin, we will explore the gardens where the spectacular rhododendrons should be in full flower. This will be followed by a session led by one of the librarians from Durham University looking at the collection of Pugin drawings and letters held at Ushaw, followed by a tour of the Big Library, designed by Charles & Joseph Hansom (A.W.N.Pugin’s design was thought to be too small by the then President, Charles Newsham). The stained glass however was subcontracted to Hardmans so all the glass in the Big Library wing was designed by A.W.N.Pugin. We will see the Pugin and Pugin designed dormitories (please note that these are on the third floor and there is no lift access) followed by a tour of the cemetery. Day ends at 4.00. Cost: £39 per person, including tea/coffee on arrival and buffet lunch.
Travel: Ushaw is 3.8 miles outside Durham: satnav DH7 7DW. The nearest station is Durham, and taxis can be ordered in advance. We can co-ordinate return taxis.
Accommodation: for those wishing to stay overnight, en suite accommodation is available at Ushaw: £52.50 for a single room and £69.95 for a twin room, including breakfast. Contact the Office at Ushaw directly to book a room on 0191 334 5119. Please do not book accommodation until your place has been confirmed for the study day.
The study day led by the Treasurer to the Society, Dr Mike Galloway, will look at the ecclesiastical and domestic architecture of the Pugins at Ushaw College near Durham. Architectural works include those by A.W.N.Pugin, Edward Pugin, Peter Paul Pugin, Sebastian Pugin Powell together with stained glass by A.W.N.Pugin and John Hardman Powell. We will also see church plate, metal work and vestiments by A.W.N.Pugin and John Hardman Powell.
The day starts at 10.00 with welcome and coffee, followed by a tour of the main building with its 13 chapels and side chapels, led by Alex Hall. Claire Marsland, curator at Ushaw, will then show us the superb collection of church plate, metal work and vestments designed by A.W.N.Pugin, Edward Pugin and John Hardman Powell, together with other notable Gothic revival items. After lunch in the Parlour designed by Edward Pugin, we will explore the gardens where the spectacular rhododendrons should be in full flower. This will be followed by a session led by one of the librarians from Durham University looking at the collection of Pugin drawings and letters held at Ushaw, followed by a tour of the Big Library, designed by Charles & Joseph Hansom (A.W.N.Pugin’s design was thought to be too small by the then President, Charles Newsham). The stained glass however was subcontracted to Hardmans so all the glass in the Big Library wing was designed by A.W.N.Pugin. We will see the Pugin and Pugin designed dormitories (please note that these are on the third floor and there is no lift access) followed by a tour of the cemetery. Day ends at 4.00. Cost: £39 per person, including tea/coffee on arrival and buffet lunch.
Travel: Ushaw is 3.8 miles outside Durham: satnav DH7 7DW. The nearest station is Durham, and taxis can be ordered in advance. We can co-ordinate return taxis.
- Address: Ushaw College, Co. Durham, DH7 9RH.
- Arrival by car / taxi: at the top of the drive bear left for the main entrance. The alternative entrance (if you bear right) is the University entrance which has step free access but involves a longer internal walk to the first session.
- From the South: leave the A1(M) at junction 59 north of Darlington and continue north on the A167 (for 14 miles) to the traffic lights at Neville’s Cross, on the outskirts of Durham City. Continue to the set of traffic lights by Sainsbury’s Local and turn left. Signposts can direct you from there.
- From the North: leave the A1(M) at junction 63, Chester-Le-Street. Continue south on the A167 until you reach Crossgate Moor on the outskirts of Durham. Turn right at the first set of traffic lights just past the pedestrian footbridge. Ushaw is signposted here.
- Rail: Ushaw is 3.8 miles from Durham railway station and the best way to get to Ushaw is to take a taxi from the station (the taxi rank is by platform 2, the north bound platform). We can co-ordinate the bookings for return taxis for the end of the day.
Accommodation: for those wishing to stay overnight, en suite accommodation is available at Ushaw: £52.50 for a single room and £69.95 for a twin room, including breakfast. Contact the Office at Ushaw directly to book a room on 0191 334 5119. Please do not book accommodation until your place has been confirmed for the study day.
Tuesday 31 July – Friday 3 August
Study Tour: The Gothic Revival in Liverpool and the Wirral
This year the society visits the magnificent city of Liverpool, standing proudly on the Mersey, dominated by its two cathedrals, and containing a wealth of Victorian and later buildings. The tour will focus in particular on the work of Edward Pugin, Augustus’s eldest son and architectural heir, not only in Liverpool but also across the Mersey in the Wirral. It will be led by an expert on his work, Dr Gerard Hyland who is currently working on a detailed gazetteer of his architectural output.
On our first night we will dine at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms in Liverpool, with their splendid Victorian interiors. On Wednesday we venture over the Mersey to view the city from Birkenhead where we will visit Edward’s churches of Our Lady and St Anne, and drive through Birkenhead Park, the first public park, designed by Paxton and a model for Central Park, New York. We will visit Port Sunlight, Lord Lever’s model village, to see the Lady Lever Art Galley with its collection of C19 and early C20 art. On Thursday we will focus on Liverpool itself, starting with a visit to the richly decorated Princes Road Synagogue, followed by the neo-classical masterpiece of St Georges Hall. After seeing Bodley’s superb church at TueBrooke, we will explore Giles Scott’s Anglican Cathedral, the apogee of the Late English Gothic Revival, and its contrast in Gibberd’s 1960s Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, reflecting on Lutyens’s plans for the site, and visiting his crypt on which the cathedral stands. In the evening we will return to the Anglican Cathedral to dine, followed by an opportunity to ascend the tower to see the sun go down over the city. On Friday we spend the morning looking at churches in the centre of Liverpool, concentrating on the work of Edward Pugin. The tour ends at mid-day.
Accommodation is in en-suite double bedrooms in the University of Liverpool’s Hall of Residence at Vine Court, in the centre of the city.
Cost: £345pp for double occupancy and £425pp for single. This includes accommodation, breakfast, dinners at Philharmonic and Cathedral, coach, entrance fees and donations. Non residential rate on request.
Study Tour: The Gothic Revival in Liverpool and the Wirral
This year the society visits the magnificent city of Liverpool, standing proudly on the Mersey, dominated by its two cathedrals, and containing a wealth of Victorian and later buildings. The tour will focus in particular on the work of Edward Pugin, Augustus’s eldest son and architectural heir, not only in Liverpool but also across the Mersey in the Wirral. It will be led by an expert on his work, Dr Gerard Hyland who is currently working on a detailed gazetteer of his architectural output.
On our first night we will dine at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms in Liverpool, with their splendid Victorian interiors. On Wednesday we venture over the Mersey to view the city from Birkenhead where we will visit Edward’s churches of Our Lady and St Anne, and drive through Birkenhead Park, the first public park, designed by Paxton and a model for Central Park, New York. We will visit Port Sunlight, Lord Lever’s model village, to see the Lady Lever Art Galley with its collection of C19 and early C20 art. On Thursday we will focus on Liverpool itself, starting with a visit to the richly decorated Princes Road Synagogue, followed by the neo-classical masterpiece of St Georges Hall. After seeing Bodley’s superb church at TueBrooke, we will explore Giles Scott’s Anglican Cathedral, the apogee of the Late English Gothic Revival, and its contrast in Gibberd’s 1960s Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, reflecting on Lutyens’s plans for the site, and visiting his crypt on which the cathedral stands. In the evening we will return to the Anglican Cathedral to dine, followed by an opportunity to ascend the tower to see the sun go down over the city. On Friday we spend the morning looking at churches in the centre of Liverpool, concentrating on the work of Edward Pugin. The tour ends at mid-day.
Accommodation is in en-suite double bedrooms in the University of Liverpool’s Hall of Residence at Vine Court, in the centre of the city.
Cost: £345pp for double occupancy and £425pp for single. This includes accommodation, breakfast, dinners at Philharmonic and Cathedral, coach, entrance fees and donations. Non residential rate on request.
Booking: please send cheques payable to The Pugin Society, and enclosing a SAE or email address for confirmation, to Professor Julia Twigg, 9 Nunnery Road, Canterbury, CT1 3LS |
Cancellation policy: we regret that refunds cannot be made less than 14 days before an event. There is a handling charge of £5. In the case of overnight events where accommodation may have been booked, there may need to be an additional charge to cover losses to the Society. |