The work of E. W. Pugin
- This topic has 159 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 11 months ago by
.
- Posts
St. Chad’s Cathedral
One of the finest neo-gothic church buildings in England, built to the design of Augustus Welby Pugin and opened in 1841. Much of the work is by Hardman & Co. The mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, it contains some splendid 19th century stained glass made by Hardmans, a 16th century Flemish pulpit, and a late medieval statue of the Virgin Mary, as well as one of the largest new manual organs in the UK, built by Walkers & Co in 1993.The link below shows a picture of the great Rood Screen build in St. Chad’s by A.W. Pugin. Unfortunately, in the late 1960s it was dismantled and atomized. Recently, I believe, the Cross was reinstated but the other parts of the screen remain scattered in various places. Let me quote Nicholas Psevner on thi particular piece of vandalism: “Without the screen, we totally lose Pugin’s intended drama of the nave space revealing the chancel as a giant reliquary, that is, for the relics of the 7 century Bishop of Mercia, St. Chad….housed in the gilt feretory above the High Altar reredos”. Most of the bits and pieces of the screen are to be found in Anglican church of the Holy Trinity in Reading.
It is ironic that the church will not permit anglicans to receive communion in their churches but does not object to important architectural fittings being transferred from important cathedrals to anglican churches
Just take a look at the 39 Articles published at the beginning of the Book of Common Prayer and you will see why there are doctrinal problems about that particular entreprise:
Articles 28 and 31 , I think, sould be sufficient to see that there still remains a good deal of ground to be made up before even an “agreed” doctrine of the Eucharist, for what that is worth, can be arrived at:
http://www.reform.org.uk/restore.php?page=http%3A//www.reform.org.uk/covenant/39.html
There are certainly differences between the faiths which present very deep spiritual contradictions; however in todays World both faiths have a lot more in common than most other religions and the recent increases in secularism and inter-faith partnerships have led to regular situations where members of both faiths find themselves in the others places of worship. I think that finding ways to solve these issues are a lot more important than altering a cathedral which doesn’t need updating.
BTW
The story of St Chads is an interesting one and should be a salutory lesson to all those who wish to embrace the latest fads at the expense of important architectural fabric which I am sure was only created by the great sacrifices of a previous generation.
If anyone is interested in viewing two wonderful example of neo-Gothic Rood Screens, I have just posted two examples built by A. Tepe, one in Utrecht the other in Amsterdam, which are still in place and largely intact. They can be found on postings # 830 and # 833 on the thread dealing with the reorganizationa and destruction of Irish cathedrals and churches.
Architect Francis Roberts has done a beautiful restoration job at E. W. Pugin’s church of St Mary in Barrow on Furness:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frarchitects/sets/72057594099490552/
Yes, indeed. This is a far cry from the O’Neill hack-approach. The paint work looks very well but I am not convinced by that shaggy red carpet spilling around all over the place. The altar mensa would also look better where it was and should never have been moved. Where, however, are the altar rails?
@Thomond Park wrote:
It is ironic that the church will not permit anglicans to receive communion in their churches but does not object to important architectural fittings being transferred from important cathedrals to anglican churches
There is no irony if one allows that churches are used as places of worship rather than architectural museums. Worship should be conducted in accordance with the current liturgy of the religious denomination rather than a liturgy which may have obtained at the time the church was designed. Is the preservation of architectural fittings more important than freedom of worship?
@sangallo wrote:
Architect Francis Roberts has done a beautiful restoration job at E. W. Pugin’s church of St Mary in Barrow on Furness:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frarchitects/sets/72057594099490552/
E.W. Pugin and Ashlin’s lovely church in Monkstown Co. Cork is currently undergoing restoration. It is a community project with many of the experts giving their time and expertise free. Thankfully to date there is no mention of any re-ordering, but there is one worrying aspect in that Alex White is involved. He was involved in the disastrous Cork Cathedral project and was also involved as a committee member in the Cobh debacle.
@Gianlorenzo wrote:
E.W. Pugin and Ashlin’s lovely church in Monkstown Co. Cork is currently undergoing restoration. It is a community project with many of the experts giving their time and expertise free. Thankfully to date there is no mention of any re-ordering, but there is one worrying aspect in that Alex White is involved. He was involved in the disastrous Cork Cathedral project and was also involved as a committee member in the Cobh debacle.
Paul Clerkin put up some drawings of Monkstown Church at #4 on this thread and there is a picture at #15.
Gianlorenzo, do you have any pictures of the interior?@Gianlorenzo wrote:
E.W. Pugin and Ashlin’s lovely church in Monkstown Co. Cork is currently undergoing restoration. It is a community project with many of the experts giving their time and expertise free. Thankfully to date there is no mention of any re-ordering, but there is one worrying aspect in that Alex White is involved. He was involved in the disastrous Cork Cathedral project and was also involved as a committee member in the Cobh debacle.
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/cork/monkstown/index.html
@Praxiteles wrote:
Yes, indeed. This is a far cry from the O’Neill hack-approach. The paint work looks very well but I am not convinced by that shaggy red carpet spilling around all over the place. The altar mensa would also look better where it was and should never have been moved. Where, however, are the altar rails?
The rails are there. If you go through the pictures and in the one of the nave facing west to the rose window you can see them in the foreground. There is no gate however, but maybe that will be put back as it doesn’t look quite finished yet.
No! We are talking about Monkstown. Can you get someone to rust over and take a few shots – especially of the inside. Does anyone know what is goning on there’. Was there a planning application?
@Praxiteles wrote:
No! We are talking about Monkstown. Can you get someone to rust over and take a few shots – especially of the inside. Does anyone know what is goning on there’. Was there a planning application?
Permission was granted by Cork County Council two years ago to restore and reorder the church. If you wish to check it out, the file reference is 04/1991. There was no fuss and no appeal to An Bord Pleanala. Monkstown people are gentle folk who respect their clergy. They also hold Alexander White in high regard and are not impressed by Praxiteles pathetic attempt to smear someone who is a great architect and a perfect gentleman.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Sirius:
Post °111 was not posted by Praxiteles. Indeed, no mention of Alex White appears in anything posted by Praxiteles on this thread.
Cool the steam!
Please accept my apologies, Praxiteles, as I now realise that it was Gianlorenzo who posted the statement that “there is one worrying aspect in that Alex White is involved”. Can I take it that Praxiteles does not support Gianlorenzo’s smear tactics?
@Sirius wrote:
Permission was granted by Cork County Council two years ago to restore and reorder the church. If you wish to check it out, the file reference is 04/1991. There was no fuss and no appeal to An Bord Pleanala. Monkstown people are gentle folk who respect their clergy. They also hold Alexander White in high regard and are not impressed by Praxiteles pathetic attempt to smear someone who is a great architect and a perfect gentleman.
I congratulate you on being elected to speak for the whole of Monkstown. What I said about Alex White is based on his involvement with the disaster which is the North Cathedral – re-ordered and what was proposed for Cobh Cathedral. I have met Alex White and found him a perfect gentleman. What I said was not a personal ‘smear’, but a comment on his involvement in ecclesiastical architecture and liturgy. It was he after all who proposed the adoption by the Cloyne HCAC of the discredited document “Liturgical Requirements for St. Colman’s Cathedral. Context and Text” written by the pseudo liturgist Fr. Danny Murphy.
Can we then presume from what you say that the Sanctuary in Monkstown Church will be torn apart and altar rails removed etc. If so St. Colman’s in Cobh will become even more unique in that it will be conserved in its original form. There are not many Pugin/Ashlin churches left, unfortunately. Future generations in Ireland will have no idea what a true Gothic church should look like.
You mention planning permission – what did it grant persmission for?
PS You should not malign poor Praxiteles, I happen to know the lady personally and she is a dear.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
