CHRONOLOGICAL GAZETTEER OF THE WORKS OF E.W. PUGIN – ARCHITECT
1834–1875

© GJ Hyland – October 2007

Editor's note: This Gazetteer will eventually contain illustrations. Comments and/or new attributions welcomed.
Gerard can be contacted at: hyland1@onetel.com

Preface

'These churches were built in the tradition of the cathedrals of old, in the spirit of sacrifice, to be temples with which to worship God – things of beauty which are themselves Acts of Faith.' – Archbishop Downey {Forward to 'Holy Cross Church Centenary, 1849 –1949', D Murray, Liverpool, 1949 – see A23.} (adapted)

This Gazetteer {Despite the fact that not all the churches/chapels listed in this Gazetteer are correctly orientated liturgically (i.e. with the High Altar in the geographic East (E) end of the building), all descriptions given below assume that they are} of the works of Edward Welby Pugin (1834–1875) reveals that in his short working life of only 23 years – 1852 to 1875 – he produced an incredible amount of work. In the UK, this included both ecclesiastical (mainly for the Roman Catholic (RC) Church) and domestic buildings, whilst in Ireland, where he was partnered by GC Ashlin, it was almost exclusively ecclesiastical. In England, the majority of his churches were in the North West, in Lancashire in particular, Liverpool having, at one time, the largest number of EW Pugin churches/chapels of any UK city, including London. His output peaked in the mid-1860s, the building of no less than 12 of his churches being commenced in 1866 alone. He maintained offices in London, Liverpool and Ramsgate, and, unlike his father, let his churches go out to tender amongst local builders; carving, however, was usually reserved for Farmer & Brindley of London, and, in later years, RL Boulton of Cheltenham.

The restoration of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850, only 2 years before he commenced practising was a crucial factor in accounting for the subsequent expansion in Catholic church building. Ecclesiastical commissions came both from the secular clergy as well as the Religious Orders, predominant amongst which were the Benedictines and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; some of the churches were built through the munificence of members of the landed gentry, such as the Talbots and the de Traffords.

In total, EW Pugin's executed designs for the Roman Catholic Church (either alone or in partnership) include 3 cathedrals {Two other churches later became pro-cathedrals, and subsequently cathedrals [A7 (1859-1916), A13 (1898- present)].} (2 in England [A9, A35], 1 in Ireland [A85]), 97 churches and chapels (71 in England, 20 in Ireland, 4 in Scotland, 1 in Wales and 1 in Belgium – excluding those attached to convents), 28 convents & monasteries/friaries (16 in England, 12 in Ireland), 33 schools, colleges & orphanages (28 in England, 4 in Ireland, 1 in Scotland), as well as at least 16 secular buildings (14 in England – including H17 –, 2 in Belgium). In addition, he undertook several commissions for the Church of England, and was responsible for very many extensions and alterations to existing churches, both Catholic and Anglican, as well as for a vast amount of miscellaneous, smaller works, both ecclesiastical and secular. Sadly, at least 16 of his churches and (non-convent) chapels have been either closed or destroyed, occasionally by natural forces [A80, A86] but more often either by bombing in the Second World War [A23, A57, A68] or, more recently and tragically, through the decisions of members of the RC Hierarchy [e.g. A51]. Since the Second Vatican Council, many of the surviving churches have been victims of insensitive internal reordering, so much so that, in some cases, it is now virtually impossible to envisage the original composition of the sanctuaries, with many High Altars having been severely mutilated [e.g. A100], if not completely destroyed [e.g. B26] – actions that were never mandated by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

It should be appreciated that when first opened, many of EW Pugin's churches were incomplete, particularly with respect to the chancel and sanctuary; it could be several years before sufficient funds became available to permit completion, but the original designs were usually adhered to – even after his death in 1875 when his younger brother (Cuthbert Welby, 1840–1928) and half-brother (Edmund Peter ['Peter Paul'], 1851–1904) continued his architectural practise as the firm of Pugin & Pugin. It is to PP Pugin that we owe many of the fine altars and reredoses that were subsequently installed in EW Pugin's churches [e.g. A23, A26, A67, A71, A100], and which complete their sanctuaries in perfect keeping with his overall designs {In the case of some of PP Pugin's early commissions it is not always easy to establish whether the designs are his own, or whether he was simply elaborating/implementing those already prepared by EW Pugin before his death}. In the hands of PP Pugin, the 'Benediction Altar' {This appellation refers to the characterising feature of a prominent throne (usually surmounted by a lofty spire) above Tabernacle from where the Blessed Sacrament can be exposed in full view of the entire congregation for veneration during the services of Benediction and Quarante Ore (during which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for 40 hours). In the case of larger such structures [e.g. A23, A100], the High Altar & reredos stand free of the E wall of the chancel, permitting the throne to be accessed by stairs behind the reredos.}, the concept of which can be traced to AWN Pugin, reached its apogee. Externally, however, many of the churches still remain incomplete, particularly with respect to his intended spires/towers, occasionally due to foundational problems [e.g. A100], but more usually because of financial constraints [e.g. A26, A67]; this is true to a somewhat lesser extent in the case of his Irish churches, many of which do have their intended spires.

The quality of EW Pugin's churches display a vast variation, ranging from the opulent {By the time it was completed in 1915, this cathedral had cost more than any other building in Ireland up to that time.} Cobh cathedral [A85] and the English de Trafford church [A60] on which no expense was spared {This church cost approximately 5 times more than a typical (more modest), unendowed urban church.}, to those he designed for much less well-endowed working-class congregations [e.g. A51], where, in his own words, he was often 'compelled to show what he could not do, rather than what he could.' For, very often, every point of design, every corner, feature that he wished to see produced 'had, in the end, to be sacrificed to necessity – simply for want of means.' {Centenary Brochure of the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury & The English Martyrs, Preston [A67].} It is important to bear this in mind when assessing (i) the indictment that he was a 'wildly uneven architect' [Ref. (xv)] and (ii) the often disparaging and unsympathetic remarks of Pevsner [Ref. (ii)], such as those criticising the fact that, in some cases, his capitals remain uncarved! Perhaps a more fundamentally valid criticism is that the interiors of some of his churches – particularly the smaller ones – are marred by the nave arcades being disproportionately low in comparison with the height of the clerestory {An exception in this respect is A51}, giving the impression of 'top-heaviness', the pillars appearing to have partially sunk into the floor of the nave (especially once the benches are in position), a defect that is shared, incidentally, by some of his father's churches.

Apart from a very small number of essays in Classical (Italianate) and Romanesque styles [A78, and B15, B16 {In this case, Romanesque was chosen in order to match the architectural style of already existing convent buildings.}, G9, respectively], EW Pugin's churches – in common with those of his father, AWN Pugin (1812–1852) – are exclusively Gothic, 3 distinct phases of development being discernible in his oeuvre, particularly in England. The first of these (which lasted from 1852 to about 1859) is characterised by a style that is broadly similar to that on which his father eventually settled, namely, 14th century English Decorated Gothic (or 'second pointed'), with a clear distinction being observed between nave and chancel, the latter being square-ended and usually under a lower roof [e.g. A3, A9, A13] Evidence of a more idiosyncratic, approach, influenced by flamboyant French Gothic, can be discerned, however, as early as 1856, when his predilection for West-end bell-cotes {Bell-cotes were a more affordable option/substitute for a belfry housed in a tower.}, more fantastical and delicately soaring than those of his father [such as at St Mary's, Warwick Bridge, and at St John's, Alton, for example], first manifested itself [A12].

The second phase (1859–1872) was heralded by designs [A21, A22] – often in (the earlier) 13th century Geometric Gothic – in which both nave and chancel are under the same roof, and internally there is often not even a chancel arch to demarcate the division [e.g. A22, A26]. It should be noted that the internal design of A22 was actually rigidly controlled by the then Bishop of Liverpool, Dr Goss, with the aim of ensuring that as many of the congregation as possible had uninterrupted sight-lines to the sanctuary; this EW Pugin achieved by the use of relatively wide arcades and slender pillars. As has been repeatedly pointed out by Dr R O'Donnell [e.g. Ref. (vii)], A22 marked a revolution in RC church design, and one that (with a few exceptions) EW Pugin continued to refine for the next 10 years, until the early 1870s. Sanctuaries of this period are usually contained within an (usually quite shallow) apsed East-end, which was at first semicircular [A21 & A22 – and also A46], but subsequently polygonal/semi-octagonal (like that in his father's St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham, & St Mary's, Derby). These chancels are lit either by groups of short lancets at clerestory level above blank walls [e.g. A22, A26, A41], or by longer (traceried) windows [A24, A36, A60, A71] that in later years were often externally gabled [e.g. A60, C19]. Typical of this second phase of development is the composition of the tripartite West-front (formed by two buttresses at the location of the nave walls), characterised by a central main door above which is often, but not invariably [e.g. A50, A71], a deeply recessed Rose/Wheel window (sometimes set above a row of short lancets [e.g. A23, A60]), the apex of the gable being surmounted either by a metal Cross [e.g. A26] or by an elaborate bell-cote {Two basic variants of bell-cote design can be identified amongst the oeuvre of EW Pugin: one (inspired by the French flèche) of essentially square/octagonal cross-section [e.g. A60], the other being planar (of rectangular cross-section, e.g. A73), and similar to that which houses the Sanctus Bell in some old English parish Churches.} [e.g. A23, A60, A71] that itself supports a tall metal Cross; a notable exception to this formula is provided by the W front elevation of A67. It is mainly designs from this second phase that have attracted appellations such as 'nervous' [Ref. (v)] and 'spiky' [Ref. (xiii)], and the allusion that they even display 'Rogue' elements [Ref. (x)].

His third and final phase (c.1872–75) is characterized by a return to a greater degree of sobriety, redolent of his first period, with a reversion to square-ended chancels, usually of a different height from the nave {Indeed, in the case of his final church [A100], the roof level of the chancel is actually higher than the nave, which, unusually for him, was aisleless.} (A99 is an exception to this), demarcated by a dominant chancel arch [e.g. A95, A96, A99, A100 (which in a number of ways was prefigured by A96), B26], but devoid of any screen. Furthermore, the familiar West-end Rose/Wheel window and the lancet-like apse windows are here interchanged, whilst the bell-cote is abandoned in favour of an off-centre tower/spire [e.g. A99, A100], such as again characterises some of the designs of his first period [e.g. A3, A13, A19].

In England, EW Pugin's most significant convents (both for Benedictine nuns) are those at Oulton [B1], dating from the very beginning of his career, and Stanbrook [B26], which heralds the onset his final phase. Good examples of his monastic buildings are provided by those (again for the Benedictines) at Belmont [B4] and Ramsgate [B8], both of which are characterised by their acutely gabled dormer windows.

Outstanding examples of orphanages are afforded by those at Rotherfield, near Mark Cross [E18], and Mayfield [E17], both in Sussex, which although built almost simultaneously are in quite different styles, that of the latter being much more 'modern' Gothic.

Good examples of EW Pugin's domestic architecture, often commissioned by members of the landed gentry, are afforded by G1, G3, G8, G10, G15, and H18.

Many of his designs remain unrealised, the most ambitious of which are those for three English cathedrals – Shrewsbury {Shrewsbury Cathedral as built [A9] is a very reduced version of the original, lacking the projected dominating tower & spire and high clerestory.} [K1], Liverpool [K2] and Birkenhead [K4].