Who was Augustus Pugin?

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812—1852), son of the French émigré Augustus Charles Pugin, architectural draughtsman and topographical watercolourist, is arguably the greatest British architect, designer and writer of the nineteenth century. Pugin was responsible for an enormous quantity of buildings, and also for countless beautiful designs for tiles, metalwork, furniture, wallpaper, stained glass and ceramics. Some of his best known work includes the magnificent interiors of the Houses of Parliament, the church of St Giles, Cheadle, in Staffordshire, and his own house, The Grange, in Ramsgate, Kent, together with the nearby church of St Augustine, which he built and paid for himself.

Why is Pugin so significant?

He is important because through his buildings, designs, and particularly his forceful and witty writings, such as Contrasts (1836) and the True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841), he made people think in a new way about what architecture was. Pugin taught that only a caring and 'good' society can raise buildings that are truly honest and beautiful. For him, Gothic architecture was the greatest style of building, and therefore the Middle Ages, the period in which these buildings were conceived, must be the closest man can get to a perfect society. Pugin's beliefs and ideas have implications beyond his own immediate preferences, and so for many reasons he was, and is, therefore, hugely influential, both on other architects and designers of the Gothic Revival throughout the Victorian era and also on many subsequent architects, theorists and writers. And there is much to be said besides.

WELCOME TO THE PUGIN SOCIETY

To be a member of the Pugin Society is to be someone who, as Pugin said of his wife Jane, 'perfectly understands and delights in spires, chancels, screens, stained windows, brasses, vestments, etc.' The Society is a Registered Charity (No. 1074766) and was founded in 1995. From small beginnings in Ramsgate, where Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) built his own house and church, it has grown to be a flourishing national and international organisation. Its interests include the study of nineteenth-century Gothic Revival architecture, associated decorative arts, and social and church history of the period. It is a Society where not only experts and scholars, but everybody with an interest in Pugin and the Gothic Revival, participate together in enjoyable events and other worthwhile activities.

Our aims are PROTECTION (of buildings and artefacts by members of the Pugin family, or their close associates), EDUCATION (through visits and talks) and INFORMATION (through the promotion and production of books, pamphlets, and a newsletter and Journal). We also want, most importantly, to encourage new research and to extend the boundaries of knowledge within this most interesting and manyfaceted subject area. It is amazing, to lovers of Pugin and his world, not only how much has already been discovered about him, but how very much more remains to be found out. Members of the Society will discover that a remarkable world of architectural, religious, and historical interconnections lies before them, waiting to be explored, recorded, and discussed.

Through the Pugin Society many more people have already become aware of the outstanding significance of the work and theories of Augustus Pugin and his family. If you would like to join the Society, widen your interests and horizons and become part of a notably friendly and intelligent membership, click here.