TRUE PRINCIPLES vol.1 no.5

1) 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

2) 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

3) 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

4) 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

5) 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