The Pilgrim Rabbit Around and about St Mary's Church Keeping you in touch - St Mary's Church, Beverley
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The Pilgrim Rabbit
Around and about St Mary’s Church
Keeping you in touch July 2020 (Special issue)
We are continuing to produce our series of Special Issues of The Pilgrim Rabbit to maintain interest in the heritage of our
beautiful church during the COVID-19 situation. These are being produced in digital form only at present, to reduce costs and
enable us to produce them more frequently. Please forward this digital version on to anybody who might be interested.
Anyone is able to opt in to receive future copies by emailing the church using the address on the back page. All past issues
are also available on the website at https://stmarysbeverley.org/heritage/the-pilgrim-rabbit-newsletter/.
Introduction “Hand me a pencil”: Beverley framing Pugin’s life
Roland Deller, Director of By Libby Burgess
Development writes:
As we view St Mary’s engulfed in scaffolding, it is interesting to look back on
It fills me with great pride that St previous chapters of restoration in the church’s history.
Mary’s roster of architects includes
two giants of the profession from The nineteenth
the 19th century: the prolific English century was, across
Gothic revivalist, Sir George Gilbert the country, a hive
Scott, and the hugely influential of activity in church
pioneer of that movement, Augustus restoration terms:
Pugin, who is the subject of this we only have to
special edition of The Pilgrim Rabbit. look out across the
I am indebted to Libby Burgess for Wolds to see the
writing the feature article for us eighteen churches
about this visionary genius – most rebuilt or restored
famously known for his design of ‘Big by the Sykes family
Ben’. It has been fascinating to learn – an achievement
more about Pugin’s restoration of St unparalleled
Mary’s and a joy to discover the part elsewhere in
which our church and town played in Britain (and it is Sir
shaping his life and work. Tatton Sykes, 5th
baronet, of course,
It was a short life, lived out during a who famously
period of massive social change. quoted that St
Pugin looked to medieval Mary’s was
architecture to make sense of the ‘unequalled in
broken world in which he lived, and England and almost
so it is that many of us find in the without rival on the
ancient beauty of St Mary’s some continent of
peace and deeper meaning in our Europe’).
own troubled times. Amongst Approaches to
Pugin’s vast legacy is his restoration restoration 150 or
of St Mary’s – which helped keep the 200 years ago were
place standing for over 150 years. starkly different to
We take great inspiration from his today: ‘old’ did not
example as we work tirelessly to St Mary’s great West Window. Glass by Hardman, designed by necessarily mean
save the building and thereby Pugin. Image © J. Hannan-Briggs from The Geograph. Creative ‘good’ – or even
preserve Pugin’s legacy in Beverley. Commons licence CC BY-SA 2.0 ‘important’ or
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‘valuable’ – and so swathes of also for the societal injustices and back centuries, had been swept
medieval architecture and design the growing industrial cities of the aside by the rise of evangelicalism
were overwritten with new Victorian day. His architectural thesis and and non-conformism, and he
ideals. career-launching book Contrasts mourned the medieval days when
was published only a year before monks looked after the poor, as
Oliver Twist, and Pugin was well compared with the brutal
aware of the horrors of Dickensian workhouses of the 19th century. In
London, offset against the frivolity Contrasts (argued, according to
and decadence of Regency wealth Steven Carver, ‘with the fervour of
(think Blackadder III), and the the pulpit and the subtlety of a
dubious morals of those in the saloon bar rant’) he proclaimed that
theatrical world where he had held architecture was a physical
his first job (as a set designer). Pugin expression of a spiritual reality – that
biographer Rosemary Hill writes that it was, in essence, sacred:
Contrasts was ‘an attack on the On comparing the Architectural
world of the Regency, that Vanity Works of the present Century with
Fair of stucco-fronted manners, high those of the Middle Ages, the
taste and low principles.’ (Its full wonderful superiority of the latter
title says it all: Contrast; or, a must strike every attentive observer…
Parallel between the noble edifices Who can regard those stupendous
Augustus Pugin by unknown artist. Oil of the fourteenth and fifteenth Ecclesiastical Edifices of the Middle
on canvas, circa 1840. The portrait centuries, and similar Buildings of Ages without feeling this
includes the armorial bearings of the the present day: showing the observation in its full force? Here
Pugin family – a black martlet – with present decay of Taste.)
Augustus’ personal motto “en avant”,
every portion of the sacred fabric
meaning “onward”. Image © National As a convert to Catholicism – in bespeaks its origin; the very plan of
Portrait Gallery, London. Creative reaction to his mother’s austere the edifice is the emblem of human
Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Presbyterian faith – Pugin also felt redemption…. the eye is carried up
that much of what mattered in and lost in the height of the vaulting
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ancient Christianity, the idea of and the intricacy of the aisles; the rich
(1812-1852) was, then, unusual in his being part of something stretching and varied hues of the stained
time. He actively sought to recreate windows the modulated light, the
the styles and aspirations of his gleam of the tapers, the richness of
medieval forbears. He felt that the altars, the venerable images of
medieval architecture was the the departed just, all alike conspired
pinnacle of human achievement, that to fill the mind with veneration for the
church building and design from the place, and to make it feel the
earlier centuries had been to the sublimity of Christian worship… Such
glory of God, and that more recent effects as these can only be produced
trends of Classicist architecture on the mind by buildings…
(inspired by Ancient Greece and
Rome, beauty for beauty’s sake) (Contrasts, AWN Pugin, 1836)
reflected everything that was wrong With such a passionate, talented, and
with religion and society. His tastes historically significant figure as Pugin,
were utterly infused with the tall, it is fascinating that not only is his
light spaces, the pointed arches, high work at St Mary’s key to the building
pointed windows, and intricate lattice as we know it today, but also
carvings of the Gothic age (prevalent Beverley itself was key to his life – in
from broadly the 12th to the 16th his earliest years, and in his final
centuries): however, he felt strongly weeks.
that all decoration should be serving
a purpose, claiming, ‘it is alright to The son of an architectural draughts-
decorate construction but never The Grange in Ramsgate, Kent. The man and writer on medieval
home designed by Pugin for his family, architecture, the young Augustus
construct decoration.’ from where he made many of his
spent much of his childhood visiting
designs. The property is now in the care
It was not a simple rose-tinted churches, shaping his ideals from an
of The Landmark Trust, so you can stay
hankering after the past which fuelled there! Image: Alamy Stock Photo by early age. Augustus’ mother was from
Pugin’s opinions: it was a concern Malcolm Fairman.
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Lincolnshire stock and so naturally the architect Sir Charles Barry A recurring theme of Pugin’s life was
Lincoln Cathedral was an important entered the competition to design that those who were lesser architects
visit; however, the family also the replacement building, he but better businessmen found
undertook the first of several engaged Pugin to help with the success where he didn’t, but Pugin
significant trips further north in 1818 drawings. In the event, Barry did held doggedly true to his ideals. In
(when Pugin was just six) covering win, but Pugin designed almost addition to the grand cathedrals, he
York, Hull and Beverley. The great every element, from the famous designed countless houses, churches,
medieval buildings he encountered façade overlooking the Thames, tiles, and items of furniture. In 1851
were profoundly influential on the with its Gothic spires and carving, to at the Great Exhibition, Pugin showed
artistic young boy. Critically, it was the tiniest of interior details, and his complete range of Gothic
also in Beverley, nine years later, that furnishings: modestly-priced
Pugin met George Myers, domestic tables, plates and
apprentice stonemason at garden seats, and sacred
Beverley Minster, and this stained glass and vestments,
relationship was to prove vital to all showing ‘a vision of the
both men’s success in later life: good life in the modern city –
when they met again in 1838 one that combined God with
Pugin threw his arms round hearth and home’ (Rosemary
Myers and declared, ‘You are Hill).
the very man I want, you shall
execute all my buildings.’ And Despite the prejudices and
indeed it was Myers who carried restrictions faced by Catholics
out the majority of Pugin’s at the time, Pugin was clearly
designs, building no fewer than by this stage in great demand
four Catholic cathedrals for him all over the country, a national
– Birmingham (the first figure – but Beverley
cathedral to be built in England continued to feature. He
since Wren’s St Paul’s, and the worked on several occasions at
first Catholic cathedral to be the Minster (whose people
built in England since the once wrote to him demanding
Reformation), Southwark, to know how they should heat
Newcastle and Nottingham – their building, to which he
within the space of a single replied shortly: ‘devotion’). At
decade. In total Myers and Pugin St Mary’s he took on the role
collaborated on a remarkable 36 of church architect from 1844
churches: the Hull-born builder until his death in 1852, one of
became widely known as his first engagements in the
‘Pugin’s builder’, described by Church of England, and carried
Pugin as ‘a rough diamond, but a out considerable work, mainly
real diamond’. Without this to the exterior. He designed
chance meeting in Beverley, the flying buttresses to shore up
ideas of Pugin, a troubled genius the south wall, like those he’d
who spearheaded the Gothic seen at a young age at Lincoln
Revival and is seen as the father Cathedral. These went to the
of the Arts & Crafts movement, heart of his Gothic ideals:
would perhaps never have been Elizabeth Tower, known as ‘Big Ben’, designed by Pugin. buttresses were heavily used in
realised. the old Gothic style to reduce
Photo by David Iliff from Wikimedia Commons. Creative
the need for the thick walls
Commons licence CC BY-SA 3.0
By the late 1830s Pugin was previously required to bear the
working on what should by structural load of a building –
rights have been the project to the whole decoration of the House think of a typical castle wall – which
secure his celebrity status: the design of Lords. However, Barry took all the thus allowed greater height. This
of the Houses of Parliament. He had credit, and was paid almost external work was not completed by
stood in the crowds (which also £25,0000, while Pugin was barely the time of his death, and his designs
included painters Turner and even mentioned, was paid only were carried out a year later by his
Constable) watching the old Palace of £800, and wasn’t even invited to the son Edward Welby Pugin. Augustus’
Westminster burn in 1834, and when opening. external work had also included the
Page 3
replacement of the turrets at the top drawing talent to assist his father in ‘frantic, dangerous overwork’. He
of the west front: the original turrets producing books for the architect refused administrative assistance,
found their way into various gardens John Nash. This brilliance enabled claiming that if he employed a clerk,
around Beverley, such as the one still him to work at an extremely fast pace ‘I should kill him in a week.’ He
visible today outside the Council in adulthood: in just two years 1838- poured his own money into his
Offices on Champney Road. 40, for example, he built or designed projects, causing constant financial
eighteen churches, two cathedrals, anxieties. He cared deeply, and
Pugin seemed to work best with his three convents, two monasteries,
core collaborators around him: aside worked obsessively (perhaps one of
several schools, and half a dozen the reasons that steady,
from Myers, another key figure was houses. His diaries from throughout
the glass maker John Hardman, dependable, unhurryable Myers was
his life record intense bursts of such a good foil). The arrival of the
whose Birmingham firm became the working all day and all night, juggling
greatest exponents of stained glass in railways during his lifetime
an extraordinary number of projects (including, in 1846, in Beverley)
the country, and continued operating at once: Rosemary Hill writes of his
until 2008. It was Hardman who enabled him to cram even more
had made the glass for the new work into his schedule.
Houses of Parliament, and he Increasingly, though, Pugin was
also implemented Pugin’s other troubled by both physical illness
major design for St Mary’s, the and depression: he was always
three windows on the west prone to self-doubt and despair,
front. Commissioned in 1848 and had to take to his bed with
and installed in 1850, the great intermittent eyesight problems,
West Window shows (aptly, for a but in his last years he was
church dedicated to St Mary) troubled with nightmares,
Jesus crowning the Virgin Mary gruesome daytime visions, and
and, above this, the archangel intense pain, and his grip on
Gabriel visiting Mary. Around Interior of the House of Lords Chamber, designed reality started to slip. Interwoven
them are depictions of the by Pugin. Image © Parliamentary Copyright. with this declining health was
twelve apostles, sixteen Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 work on the project for which he
prophets and a number of is perhaps the most famous: the
angels. addition to the Houses of
Two smaller windows in the church Parliament of a clocktower
were also designed by Pugin: one (currently also shrouded in
above where the toilets are now scaffolding), generally known by the
located (depicting three scenes from name of its largest bell, Big Ben. The
the life of John the Baptist: Baptism, Houses of Parliament architect Barry
Preaching in the Wilderness, and was a thankless task master on the
Beheading), and one near the South Big Ben project, but Pugin also
entrance (depicting three scenes worked himself into the ground. He
from the life of Christ: Adoration, wrote to Hardman: ‘I have also told
Transformation and Presentation). [Barry] there can be no steam
These were both installed after his without heat and no heat without
death (1852 and 1855 respectively – fuel & that I have no fuel to keep up
the latter based only on sketched steam...’. His energy and sanity just
designs). All three windows include about lasted through to the
wonderful examples of gothic completion in 1852 of his iconic Big
geometric tracery full of trefoils and Ben design: when the tower was
quatrefoils; it is but a small leap from completed in 1859, its clock was the
these to the art of William Morris largest and most accurate four-
that followed. faced striking and chiming clock in
the world.
Pugin had been a precocious child:
one school master remarked that ‘he Very shortly after finishing the
would learn in twenty-four hours Pugin’s drawing for St Mary’s design, on Ash Wednesday 1852
what it took other boys weeks to weather vane. (P. Atterbury ed. Pugin boarded a train to London
acquire’, and barely into double A.W.N. Pugin Master of Gothic with his son Edward, and by the
Revival, 1995, p. 42.) time he arrived he was psychotic
figures he was using his notable
Page 4
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and unable to recognise those around to be the cause of his illness, but it is Mary’s between 1853 and 1856) is
him. There followed a muddled few now thought that he had syphilis, now in the Priest Rooms. A
days in which he was troubled and perhaps contracted in those early replacement sits to this day in the
sometimes violent. Myers tried to years working in theatres, where the intended location, atop the south
rouse him from his misery by asking disease was rife. Pugin died of a west pepperpot turret. From here,
him about their ongoing work in stroke later that year, on September as it circles in the wind, it overlooks
Beverley. In a rare lucid moment, 14th 1852, aged just forty. the town, in which are interwoven
Pugin supposedly responded, ‘Hand so many critical moments of this
me a pencil!’ – and made a sketch on The original weather vane (which was extraordinary man’s colourful life,
the back of an envelope, the very erected by Pugin’s son Edward as he and in which we see the skill and
wrapped up the renovations of St Christian dedication of his work.
final design he ever made:
that of our St Mary’s weather
Three resources were
vane. It is annotated in his
particularly useful in writing
hand with the words ‘St
this article, which might be
Mary’s Beverley March 1 my
th of interest to those who
40 birthday and the English
would like to know more
nation.’ (It’s not clear exactly
about Pugin: Rosemary
what the ‘English nation’
Hill’s book God’s Architect:
means here, but many of his
Pugin and the building of
writings from the preceding
Romantic Britain; Steven
weeks had been incoherent.)
Carver’s article Pugin: The
That evening he was admitted
Mad Genius of the
to an asylum. His (third and
Gothic Revival on his blog
last) wife Jane was not
Ainsworth & Friends; and
allowed to visit him for four
the 2012 BBC documentary
months, and his treatment
God’s Own Architect,
was, by modern standards, Letter from Edward Welby Pugin to Mr J. James, mason,
presented by Richard
cruel. For years, biographers instructing him to shore up, without delay, the ceiling of the
south transept of St Mary's, dated 29 June 1853. Image © Taylor, which is available on
declared mercury poisoning
RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects). YouTube.
Introducing Andy Burrell
Andy has been our Inspecting Architect reordering of the Royal Chapel of St
since 2019. He is a member of the Peter ad Vincula - final resting place of
Diocesan Advisory Committee for the the headless body of Beverley lad, St
Care of Churches in the Diocese of John Fisher!
Chichester, and a director of Carden &
Godfrey, the London-based Like Pugin, Andy’s time at St Mary’s is
architectural practice. Although he lives marked by the building being in need of
Down South, Andy is a regular visitor to major repair, and we feel lucky to have
Beverley, as he also looks after the such a level-headed colleague on the
Minster. team. He is overseeing the project to
restore the North Nave Clerestory and
Other historic buildings which Andy currently planning the next phase of
cares for include the Tower of London, works: the conservation of the South
where he recently carried out a Nave Clerestory.
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St Mary’s Church, North Bar Within, Beverley, HU17 8DL. Tel: 01482 869137
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