BUILDINGS NEWS

edited by James Jago, with contributions from Catriona Blaker, Nick Dermott, Michael Fisher, Peter Howell and Rory O'Donnell

THE PUGIN GATEHOUSE, OXENFORD

Courtesy, Landmark Trust

The Landmark Trust has taken over the running and restoration of A.W.N. Pugin's lovely Picturesque yet robust gatehouse, built for Lord Midleton of the adjacent Peper Harow estate in 1842, to which this building was once an entrance. The gatehouse is closely associated with the group of nearby farm buildings designed for Lord Midleton at that time, which show what strong, convincing and functional structures Pugin could produce in this genre. The gatehouse will accommodate up to four people, and will open for guests in the earlier part of 2010, so watch the Landmark Trust website http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk for details, or ring 01628 825925, for what will be a truly Puginesque break, in lovely surroundings.
(See below for an item on St Nicholas, Peper Harow.)

Pugin enthusiasts will be interested to know that the Convent of St Joseph, in Cheadle, Staffordshire, close to the great church of St Giles, designed by Pugin and consecrated in 1846, is currently for sale. The Convent is, to a considerable extent, a work of Pugin dated 1848, and is a wholly delightful residential property. To find out more about this unique building go to the estate agent's website,

http://www.buryandhilton.co.uk/property-details.php?id=BCP00436

North Elevation showing Georgian front section along with the Pugin cloisters and bell tower.	Former Common Room	Chapel
North Cloister Aisle		South Elevation

East elevation from churchyard showing Pugin's work and the original Georgian house obscured as much as he could manage!	General view from bottom of garden.
Cloister garth and cloister from the house.	End of east Cloister aisle with St. Giles catholic church (known as "Pugin's Gem") beyond.

VANDALISED WINDOW

The main window above the altar in the Digby Chantry, or Chapel of St John the Evangelist, designed c.1857 by Edward Pugin (1834-1875) in Pugin's St Augustine's church, Ramsgate, was recently badly damaged, apparently as a result of someone climbing on the roof of the chapel. Although this is a tragic occurrence, hopefully it will be possible to replicate the damaged areas successfully. It is likely, in a happy incidence of historic continuity, that it will be the firm of John Hardman & Co of Birmingham, who made the original, who will restore it, but this is to be confirmed.

This vibrant window (c.1860) is almost certainly the work of John Hardman Powell, chief stained glass designer at Hardman's following the death of Augustus Pugin in 1852. Details of Powell's life can be found, along with a photograph of him, in the Picture Gallery on this site.

The theme of the glass is the Last Judgement. The window is set within the apex of the pointed arch above the reredos of the altar in the chapel. There are six trefoils, contained within a circle, plus two quatrefoils at the base, outside the circle. The topmost trefoil portrays (portrayed) Abraham, with outstretched arms, enfolding the souls of the Blessed. In the centre is Christ the Judge, surrounded by a rainbow, and above, and on either side of him, are two angels, full of expressive movement, one with a drawn sword to harry the Damned, and one holding crowns, to reward the Blessed. Below, suppliants on both sides plead for mercy. At the base of the wheel is St Michael, holding his scales and weighing souls, and also at the base, but outside the circle, and in two quatrefoils, are shown the torments of the Damned, in no uncertain terms; on the left, a figure is dragged off naked by a devil, and on the right, another, also naked, is being devoured by a many-toothed flame-breathing monster.

The Digby Chantry is so called because it was Kenelm Digby (1800-1880), celebrated and prolific writer on chivalry and Catholicism, Catholic convert, and acquaintance of the Pugins who commissioned it. Digby had a great love of Ramsgate and the surrounding area, as did his family, many of whom lie here.

Further reading: Memoir of Kenelm Digby, Bernard Holland, first pub. 1919, reprinted Fisher Press 1992.

GOOD NEWS
We are delighted to be able to report that this window has now been beautifully restored by Pugin, Hardman & Powell. It is a joy to be able to see in its present condition. Some of the new panels for the window can be seen here, and can be instructively compared with our photograph of the vandalised glass.

Some of the new panels for the Digby Chantry east window, St Augustine's, Ramsgate
Photos: Jamal Mustafa of Pugin, Hardman & Powell

THE END OF AN ERA: SERIOUS CHANGES

The Benedictine community of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate, has issued a press release saying that the monks are to relocate, leaving the monastery, designed for them by Edward Welby Pugin, that has been their home since 1861. For all details relating to this announcement, see the community's website (http://www.ramsgatebenedictines.com). This sad decision triggers a raft of very serious related problems, in particular the future of St Augustine's church, its furniture and fittings, and also of the monastery buildings, not to mention the important library and archives housed there. Decisions will also have to be made about the future of St Edward's, the presbytery, designed by Pugin and erected in 1850 (despite the date 1849 which can seen carved in stone on the building).

Situation in Autumn 2009

The Benedictines have always until recently supplied a parish priest and served St Augustine's church to enable public worship to take place. From January 2010, the monks will no longer use the church. This famous church, since its absorption into a larger parish which is the responsibility of the already overworked Rev. Fr. Steven Fisher, Catholic parish priest of Ramsgate, will see one (Tridentine) Mass a week thereafter, at 8.30 on Sunday mornings, plus one or two weekday masses if demand is sufficient. It is thought that the Trustees of Pugin's indenture, by which he transferred his church to what was in 1846 the London District, and is now the Archdiocese of Southwark, are to make a definite statement about the future of St Augustine's in January.

Accessibility

On the brighter side, the public can now view the church between 2 and 4 every Sunday. This can only help to raise its profile, cause more people to appreciate it, and increase awareness of its beauty and significance. A greater level of accessibility and a wider appreciation by the public of this building will be exceedingly valuable should St Augustine's have to close (dread words) and will help to attract and underpin the major funding that may have to be found to maintain it to the standard it deserves. Pugin's church is so outstandingly important that all efforts must be made to support it, keep it open (best scenario of all, for worshippers and for everybody else), and generally pull out all stops on its behalf.

Roman Catholic Church of All Saints, Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester (E.W. Pugin 1865-8)

This imposing and unusually lavish work by E.W.P. was granted £481,000 towards urgent repair costs by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund in March this year. Major repair work, undertaken by Lloyd Evans Pritchard Ltd, has combated damage caused by an outbreak of dry rot to the chancel roof. Fr Brian Blundell, the guardian of All Saints', acknowledged the church's importance and its value to the local community: "All Saints' is important in the history of the area and for its rare architectural interest but most importantly as a living place of worship". Hailed by Pevsner as 'Pugin's masterwork', this richly finished Grade I-listed church was financed by Sir Humphrey de Trafford, and was built alongside the equally imposing de Trafford chantry. Also by E.W.P., this is a rare instance of a chantry predating the church to which it is attached. The ensemble demonstrates E.W.P.'s powers in designing richly articulated spaces and surfaces both externally, with a characterful western gable sporting a prominent rose window and bellcote, and internally, where the coursings of piers and arches alternate with striking brilliance between red Runcorn and white Painswick sandstones. The figurative details of capitals and label stops are attributed to E.W.P.'s favourite sculptor, Richard Boulton, who also carved the surviving, angel-laden polychrome marble reredos. The murals flanking the chancel are by J.A. Pippett, and include a rare portrait of E.W.P. kneeling before the agnus Dei and holding a ground plan. The all-pervading expense of All Saints' stands in marked contrast to the contemporaneous churches for impoverished urban congregations that constitute the larger part of E.W.P.'s output in the 1860s. The restrictions imposed elsewhere undoubtedly goaded his creative powers to conceive a church whose outlay in material and artistic terms stands worthy comparison with those in the vanguard of Anglican church design at this period.

See website web.mac.com/thefriary/Restoration

Former Roman Catholic chapel of Our Lady, Euxton Hall, Chorley, Lancashire (E.W. Pugin, 1866)

After the saddening dispersal of furnishings from E.W.P.'s chapel at Inglewood House, Berkshire, members will be gladdened to hear of the sensitive restoration of this long-derelict chapel. Built by William and Lady Emma Anderton to consolidate their Lancashire estate, the three-bay chapel externally alternates red sandstone with yellow for architectural details, offset by a polychromatic patterned slate rood. The original stencilling of the interior was irrevocably lost, though remains of original colour survive in the Minton tiled floor, incorporating the Anderton coat of arms, and in the three-light Hardman & Co west window, which portrays Christ enthroned in a mandorla between the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and the four living beasts. This fine work commemorates Lady Emma Anderton, who died in the year of the chapel's completion.

After being used as a food store until the mid-twentieth century, with the sale of the house to the Bell family, the chapel was again set in order for worship only to be deconsecrated and have its furnishings removed in 1982 when the ownership of the hall once again changed. After two further decades of decline and neglect, enshrouded by trees and vandalised, the chapel was purchased by Andrew Gray, Curator of herpetology at the Manchester Museum, as a restoration and conversion project. The subdivision of the interior and its harmonious conversion into self-contained residential accommodation has preserved as far as feasible the volume of the original space and conserved the fabric and original elements. Replacement floor tiles were manufactured from surviving designs by Maw & Co, and the Hardman window was successfully conserved and the paintwork recovered by Jonathan & Ruth Cooke Ltd. More details of the entire restoration process are available at www.euxtonhallchapel.com, and any members wishing to register an interest in this successful conversion prior to its being placed upon the property market should contact Andrew Gray at Andrew@euxtonhallchapel.com

Anglican parish church of St Swithun, Leadenham, Lincolnshire (decoration by A.W.N. Pugin, 1841)

At the end of August 1841 A.W.N.P. visited his friend, Rev Bernard Smith, then still an Anglican, at his mediaeval church of St Swithun's, Leadenham, and undertook (or at least supervised) the decoration of the chancel ceiling. The scheme bears comparison to the similarly patterned and inscribed ceiling A.W.N.P. designed during his restoration of Wymeswold for the sympathetic Rev Henry Alford; the use of ornamental texts was clearly conditioned to Protestant sensibilities and made an insightful distinction from the elaborate schemes prepared for Catholic patrons. The rector, Dr Alan Megahey and his parishioners have had the A.W.N.P. designs restored and cleaned at a cost of approximately £12,000, of which £10,000 is already in place. The work has been carried out by Ricketts & Smith of Shaftesbury, Dorset, conservators and restorers of historic interiors. The next step will be to install appropriate new lighting, without which the restoration will not be as easy to see or enjoy as it should be. Dr Megahey can be contacted at rector.leadenham@btinternet.com

Former Roman Catholic church of Mount St Mary, Leeds, West Yorkshire (E.W. Pugin, 1864-6)

The redevelopment proposals for the Mount St Mary's site put forward by DLA Architecture have been approved by the Leeds city centre plans panel, and as the church is Grade II* listed they have been passed to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The current scheme proposes to conserve the E.W.P. transepts and sanctuary to serve as an imposing narthex to a seven-storey residential block on the site of the nave by J.A. Hansom (1855-7). This new building will respect the profile of the nave and aisle roofs, expressed in a modern idiom and faced in zinc alloy sheeting. The W. Wardell presbytery (Grade II listed) to the north-west of the church would be replaced by a five-storey residential block, with a rear wing stretching along the northern boundary of the site. The Victorian Society understandably maintains that sacrificing so much of the original structure is unjustifiable, that the E.W. components will be left as a 'meaningless shell', and that the presbytery is not beyond feasible rehabilitation.

As has been previously stated, our Society's obligation to this still magnificent church is primarily to safeguard the future of the E.W.P. east end which contains separately listed altars and three two-light sanctuary windows by Hardman & Co. The recent removal of sections of boarding, which have safeguarded these windows since the church was closed in 1989, has revealed the brilliance of their colouring and draughtsmanship. The windows depict a root of Jesse theme. The Society has also made clear its support for a proactive attempt to recover as far as possible the original appearance of the transepts and sanctuary, rather than acquiescing to the initial ideology of preserving the interior in its current state, as a social document of the church's last active phase. We have encouraged reconstruction of the partly dismantled high altar and sensitive conservation of the transept chapel altars. We have also highlighted the present opportunity for an archaeological investigation, examining whether any original paintwork scheme remains beneath one undertaken by volunteers in the 1970s, and questioning to what degree this could be reinstated. Whilst the realisation of the new apartment complex is ultimately outside our brief, we have pointed out that the detailing at the junction between old and new structures should be very sensitively handled. This interesting proposal for redevelopment is indicative not merely of the explosion of innercity building witnessed in Leeds in recent years, but also of the marked changes in responses to conservation issues on difficult and challenging sites, of which Mount St Mary's is an undeniable example. All the parties concerned now await Mr Burnham's response.

Anglican parish church of Saint Mary, Sherborne, Dorset (window by A.W.N. Pugin, 1849-50)

From the time when the Society was but in its infancy the unlaid ghost of a conservation cause celebre arises! The Worshipful Company of Glaziers has contacted the Society for its opinions and advice for securing a longterm future for the displaced A.W.N.P./Hardman & Co west window from the above church, which is currently stored in the London Stained Glass Repository. The glass was transferred to the company upon its removal in 1996, following the upholding by the Court of Arches of the decision of the consistory court of the Diocese of Salisbury which had granted a faculty for the A.W.N.P. glass to be replaced with a newly commissioned window by the late John Hayward FMGP. Whilst the case for retaining the window was valiantly argued by both the Victorian Society and Stanley Shepherd (see Journal of stained glass, vol 19, 1995, pp 315-22), the ecclesiastical authorities endorsed both the parish's wish to replace the deteriorated glass with a new window and the conscious, though mistaken, de-emphasis voiced by certain parties on A.W.N.P.'s role in the window's design and production.

The 27 figures portraying a complex iconography of Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, deriving from the portals of Ile-de-France cathedrals, was an integral part of the elaborate restoration program of 1850-5, overseen by R.C. Carpenter. The scale and richness of this restoration, including the painting of the chancel fan vault by J.D. Crace to the designs of Clayton & Bell, is of equal importance to the Gothic Revival with the lost 1841 restoration of Temple Church. The building has thus been compromised by the replacement of Pugin's west window - a 'run-of-the-mill nineteenth century work' as Mr Hayward put it - with a new one in a style which is very much evocative of a period that has in the meantime become unfashionable.

The glass itself has suffered from extensive paint loss, due either to underfiring during production or from the use of borax pigment, resulting in the loss of much detail on the draperies, faces and attributes of the figures. This does not mean that its original appearance is irrecoverable: the lost details can either be repainted directly onto the glass in gouache or painted and fired onto white glass hung in front of the original panels. To prevent any further paint loss, the panels should be isothermically glazed, a standard conservation technique used on the celebrated sixteenth-century glass at Fairford, Gloucestershire. Given the site-specific nature of stained glass, finding a suitable new location for the 65" x 20" panels will undoubtedly prove difficult, and any new site would ideally enable their original iconographic sequence to be retained. Any suggestions from members are most welcome.

Roman Catholic Church of St Patrick, Anderston, Glasgow (P.P. Pugin, 1897-1902)

This is a significant example of Peter Paul Pugin's work, with strikingly wide arcades on the scale of railway arches, and all its P.P.-designed altars survive in situ. In an unfortunate series of events, the body of a Polish student was found outside this church last year: the parish priest, whose 'open door' policy sheltered the murderer, was dismissed, and the church closed for worship. Amidst so many 'downtown' closures it is heartening that the Archdiocese of Glasgow has, after a suitable interval, reconsecrated and reopened this church. RO'D.

Former Convent of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge, Bartestree, Herefordshire (E.W. Pugin, 1862)

This convent, which closed in 1992, has been saved through the repair and conversion of Edward Welby Pugin's ranges into apartments and the creation of new-build housing in the grounds. At the time of writing the chapels still languish, and tragically the altar of the interns' (ie penitents') chapel has been sold to a church in Chicago; this in spite of efforts by this writer to obtain it for a English site. Although protected by a planning condition, it came into the hands of a dealer who advertised it for sale at a price of £120,000. Inaccurately described by the latter as a work of E.W. Pugin, it is evidently by Peter Paul Pugin: an exuberant example of a benediction altar, in caen stone and marble, weighing seven tonnes. This case serves to remind us that the closure of, and disposal from, Catholic sites remains a continuing problem. RO'D.

Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham, London (A.W.N. Pugin 1847-8)

The interior of this notable late work by A.W.N. Pugin has undergone a most praiseworthy transformation, in full Puginian spirit, under the auspices of Martin Goalen of Academy Projects. The application of polychrome decoration to the sanctuary and the arcade arches enables the internal volumes to be integrated and articulated in a manner wholly in sympathy with the church's architectural character. The work is strongly reminiscent, in both motifs and effect, of this architect's previous reordering of St Marie's, Derby. This recourse to an earlier work is the only unfortunate note at Fulham, since it implies a pre-cast notion of generic Puginian design approach, tailored slightly for individual buildings, rather than displaying variety conditioned by a distinct impression of locus, for Fulham and Derby are at the extreme ends of A.W.N's career, and to impress upon them similar patternation negates their position within the chronology of Pugin's works. This is however understandable, since the only evidence for elaborate paintwork here postdates A.W.N.'s death, and did not survive an earlier reordering in the 1960s.

Criticism aside, the rich visual impression is successful, and the new stone high altar is an appropriate homage to A.W.N.'s idiom, whilst still accommodating the post-council preference for supportive piers in lieu of a solid plinth. The elaborately-tiled sanctuary floor is an undisputed triumph, where multi-coloured encaustic tiles, repeating A.W.N.'s original design, are set between matrixes of black and white marble. This project was undertaken by the ceramic specialist Craven Dunnill Jackson, who are frequently engaged on projects involving English Heritage, and who also replaced the original chequerboard black and red tiles in the nave and aisles with a matching design. The whole scheme is indicative of a happy reassessment of the aesthetic setting of the reformed liturgy, where recourse to historical richness and elaboration can be displayed and celebrated, rather than consciously stifled on the premise of liturgical necessity casting off a garb of obsolete, superfluous distractions. JJ.

Lady chapel reredos, Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Anne, Leeds, West Yorkshire (A.W.N. Pugin, 1842)

The reredos by A W N Pugin at St Anne's RC Cathedral, Leeds, after restoration in 2007 to even greater glory.

This especially fine wooden reredos, executed by George Myers from A.W.N. Pugin's design, has been restored with a grant from the English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation cathedral grants scheme. The reredos originally stood behind the high altar of the previous cathedral, designed by John Child in 1838, and was donated by Fr Walmesley and Grace Humble in 1842. It comprises three large niches holding statues of St Anne and the Virgin, the Madonna and Child and St Wilfred, with smaller figures of angels under canopies between them. The whole is richly polychromed and, as realised, clearly pleased its architect who recorded that: "I think it is the best thing I have yet accomplished in that way". It is a stylistically significant commission, created when his preferred manner of design shifted from late Gothic to an earlier, fourteenth-century ideal. When the previous cathedral was demolished in 1901 (in a 'Contrastsesque' episode to alleviate a sharp junction of tramlines in the adjacent road) the reredos was re-incorporated into the new lady chapel, designed as part of J. H. Eastwood's art nouveau Gothic masterpiece, which opened in 1904. Its restoration forms a fitting codicil to the recent reordering of the cathedral by Richard Williams of Buttress Fuller Allsop Williams (see Church building, vol 104, 26-37), which supersedes a previous reordering instigated by the then Bishop Dwyer's favoured practice of Weightman and Bullen; a cast of dramatis personae tainted with infamy in Puginian circles. JJ.

Church of England Church of All Saints, Leigh, Staffordshire (A.W.N. Pugin, 1844-6)

Though not a well-known work in A.W.N. Pugin's oeuvre of commissions for Anglican patrons, Leigh church is as significant as St Mary's, Wymeswold, which he restored at about the same time. A large cruciform church with a central tower, All Saints was rebuilt in 1844 by the little-known Lichfield architect, Thomas Johnson (1794-1865), at the expense of the Bagot family of nearby Blithfield Hall. Johnson had fallen under the spell of the Cambridge Camden Society and was an active member of its local counterpart, the Lichfield Society for the Encouragement of Ecclesiastical Architecture; his work at Leigh clearly reflecting the latter's influence. The building and furnishing of Leigh was carried out simultaneously with the building of St Giles', Cheadle, only a few miles away, under the patronage of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The Bagots and the Shrewsburys were friends, and this may account for A.W.N.'s involvement at both Leigh and at Blithfield, where he contributed to the restoration of another Bagot church.

For Leigh, A.W.N. designed the chancel furnishings, including a chancel screen and return stalls with Hardman metalwork, all very similar to those at Wymeswold (1844-46), a large five-light east window with superb glass by William Wailes and a pavement of Minton tiles, incorporating the arms of Richard Bagot, Bishop of Oxford, (1782-1854), who had been rector here and who continued to hold the living in plurality until 1846. The east window demonstrates a remarkable advance on that at Wymeswold, where single figures of forward-gazing saints stand stiffly to attention. At Leigh they appear mostly in groups framed in geometrical patterns, variously posed and altogether more lively.

A.W.N.'s unique tiled pavement, east window, chancel fittings and woodwork have recently (2007) been carefully restored through the generosity of Mrs Shelia Halden, a member of the congregation and a former churchwarden, who was anxious to preserve one of Staffordshire's hidden gems for future generations. In addition to A.W.N.'s east and west windows the church has a fine array of glass; from fourteenth-century survivals reset by Hardman, and windows by Burne-Jones and Morris & Co, to modern work by local glass painter Graham Chaplin; the latter being another gift from Mrs Halden to All Saints.

For members wishing to visit this church, a key is normally available at the village post office, or alternatively contact the Revd Dominic Stone on 01283 820030. MF.

Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside (A.W.N. Pugin, 1842-4)

The next phase of redecoration and reordering has been prepared by the cathedral architect, Kevin Doonan, and displays a marked advance upon earlier experimental schemes and a greater fidelity to Puginian sources, such as the Glossary and St Giles', Cheadle. A full survey of the current cathedral floorscape has been prepared, and this outlines the various phases of tiling, including original Pugin tiles, both in situ and relaid in the last reordering. A proposal for relaying the entirety of the floor has been drafted, with highly elaborate patterns for the central aisle and narthex, more restrained designs for the aisles and greatly elaborated areas for the sanctuary dais and around the relocated font. Appropriate liturgical inscriptions, in both Latin and English, are used within the borders. The Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society have already indicated support for this scheme, and the amount of time and effort spent in drafting this highly elaborate proposal is self evident, and certain areas might well benefit from a reduction in complexity and colour, with the greatest variety of the latter qualities being concentrated around the high altar.

The extension of the decorative stencilling to the sanctuary and lady chapel is also a clear improvement upon the tentative experiments in the blessed sacrament chapel, and the incorporation of eucharistic and evangelical symbols in the spandrels of the sanctuary arcade is a highly successful proposal, derived from examples in the Glossary. The lady chapel proposal would undoubtedly benefit from introducing heraldic fleur-de-lys into the design: a standard mediaevalising Marian symbol, already present in the dado panels of AW.N.'s extant lady altar reredos. The latter is to be returned to the east wall of the chapel, with the current confessionals behind it to be relocated to the west end of the cathedral. The current suggestion to resite the E.W. Pugin stone statue of the madonna and child immediately in front of the reredos is far from resolved, and the latter can better be read as a separate but integral element of the chapel's devotional furnishings. It is also proposed to erect a brass screen to divide the chapel from the south aisle. The current proposal is a more florid rendition of that placed in front of the blessed sacrament chapel, and consequently repeats the weaknesses of the latter. It can only be classed as a 'constructed decoration', and is not so much a homage to the manner of A.W.N. as an example of 'Scooby-Doo Gothic'. JJ.

Former Rank Hovis Flour Mill, Ramsgate, Kent (E.W. Pugin, 1865)

This massive structure, mostly by E.W.Pugin, ceased operating as a mill in 2006 and was disposed of by the owners at that time, Rank Hovis. Oxford architects Towle Spurring Hardy have been developing a scheme since the early part of 2007 to convert the historic buildings on the site into residential units and to provide new-build accommodation. The new buildings, in materials, siting, and form, are designed to complement the listed structures, and the whole ensemble has the potential to be a most unusual and innovative development. A planning application is expected in late September. ND.

The Pugin Chantry and tomb, Roman Catholic Church of St Augustine, Ramsgate, Kent (A.W.N. Pugin, c1847-52 and E.W. Pugin, c1861)

The conservation of A.W.N. Pugin's tomb-chest has now been completed. This involved cleaning the alabaster tympanum above and behind the effigy, realigning the stones of the surround, waxing the alabaster, and doing some minor repointing where needed. This was undertaken by conservator Matthew Beesley, from the firm Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey, and was funded by the Pugin Society. Our thanks go to all members who contributed to this highly significant project.

As reported in our summer newsletter, the repairs to the mullions and sill of the four-light window above the tomb have virtually been completed, with some refinements to the external face of the mullions still to be undertaken. This work was carried out by Coombs Ltd of Canterbury, under the supervision of the firm Purcell Miller Tritton, also of Canterbury, and was funded by parishioners, assisted with a grant of £10,000 from the Kent-based Colyer-Fergusson Trust. CB.

Abbey of Our Lady of Consolation, Stanbrook, Powick, Worcestershire (E.W. Pugin, 1868-71, and P.P. Pugin, 1878)

The Benedictine nuns of Stanbrook Abbey have elected a new abbess, Dame Andrea Savage, who is as committed to the community's move to north Yorkshire as was her predecessor. Work began on the construction of the new abbey in June, although no contract has yet been signed for the sale of the Worcestershire buildings. The Stanbrook Trust was set up early last year with the hope of buying them, so as to set up a school of sacred music. This would be in keeping with the pope's desire to improve musical standards, and Stanbrook, which has an outstanding tradition of liturgical music, and a fine church, built by E.W. Pugin in 1869-71, with excellent acoustics and a notable organ, would be a magnificent home for it. It is also well placed, near to several universities with music departments. Academic support for the project has been identified. It would be an ideal solution from the architectural point of view, requiring minimal alteration to the existing buildings, and would avoid the problem of new building, access and so on, for which planning permission might be difficult to obtain. The chief problem for the Stanbrook Trust is to find the £5-£6 million needed to buy the abbey; it continues to explore possibilities. The Stanbrook Trust has a website:
www.stanbrook-abbey.co.uk. The Pugin Society website also has a link to the Trust from its 'Buildings at Risk' page. PH.

The Chapel, Inglewood House, Kintbury, Berkshire
See here a few photographs of this most unusual structure (by member Peter Blacklock). The tiles (1) High Altar (2) and stained glass (3) are all essentially Puginesque, and so also, to some extent, is the fine Walmesley Memorial screen (4). The exterior (5), however, is a puzzle, with classical embellishments of a distinctly non-Pugin kind. Although it is recorded emphaticially that the chapel was moved "stone by stone, by canal barge", from the former home of the Walmesley family at Westwood House, near Wigan, is it possible that only some of the fabric was transferred, and that some alteration to the exterior may have taken place at Inglewood? THIS CHAPEL IS CURRENTLY IN GRAVE DANGER OF DEMOLITION.

NEWSFLASH The Society greatly regrets to have to inform all readers of this page that just before Christmas 2006 nearly all the interior fittings from this important building were removed, so that when Inspectors from English Heritage visited the chapel, with a view to a speedy spot-listing following the Society's application, the building, although itself still standing (then), no longer fulfilled the criteria for listing. Inglewood is now a lost cause. We understand that the fittings have been given to reasonably good and appreciative homes, but the whole episode is still deeply disturbing.

1 Tiles	2 High Altar
3 Stained Glass
4 Screen	5 Exterior

Roman Catholic Church of St Marie, Widnes, Cheshire (E.W. Pugin, 1865-6)

Members will be delighted to hear that this well-preserved E.W. Pugin church was successfully spot-listed by English Heritage before Christmas last year, when the Archdiocese of Liverpool announced its wish that a final mass be celebrated on the Feast of the Epiphany, after which the church would be demolished. This abrupt announcement galvanised local opposition amongst parishioners and campaigners, the local press, and the Victorian Society, which has secured the building's future for the time being. The design is an example of E.W.'s modest work for impoverished congregations; a nave with narrow lean-to aisles and a canted apse representing the essential elements of his work at this period. The restrained exterior of red and blue banded brickwork little suggests the blaze of colour within, created by the alabaster reredos with scenes from the life of the virgin set upon gilt grounds, attributable to J.A. Pippet, from the midst of which soars a characteristic benediction throne and canopy. The high altar and its attendant wooden side altars retain their original marble rails, and the overall completeness of the interior furnishings largely enabled the spot-listing application to be successful. The assured future of this church comes as a welcome respite to the recent spate of church closures in inner-city Liverpool as part of a process of apparent parochial 'centralisation', based upon the refurbished metropolitan cathedral. Whether the archdiocese will actively pursue its proposed closure remains to be seen. JJ.

Parish Church of St Nicholas, Peper Harow, Surrey (A.W.N. Pugin, 1844)

Following a serious fire in December 2007, restoration is now starting on this church, where Pugin was employed by Lord Midleton in the early 1840s. The work is being undertaken by architects Purcell Miller Tritton, under the direction of Jane Kennedy. Damage to additions made by Pugin is not as grave as it could have been, although some of the columns to his north arcade have been badly affected. The ceilings of the chancel and Midleton chapel, also by Pugin, are repairable and will be cleaned and repainted. The stained glass at the east end has, according to Purcell Miller Tritton, also survived. To find out more, or to make a contribution, look at
www.peperharow.info/church.htm