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10 Amazing Things To Know About Augustus Pugin

Augustus Pugin is remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. He was an English architect born in Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London, England on March 1, 1812, and died on September 14, 1852, in Ramsgate, Kent, England.

Pugin son’s Edward Welby Pugin and Peter Paul Pugin joined the architectural field as well and designed several famous buildings. After his father’s death, they continued his architectural firm as Pugin & Pugin, a London-based family firm of church architects.

He designed many churches in different parts of the world such as England, Australia, and Ireland. Some of the churches he designed include the Church of Assumption of Mary, Bree, County Wexford,1837–1839, Church of St. John the Baptist, Bellevue, Ballyhogue, County Wexford, in 1859, and Church of St. James’s, Ramsgrange, County Wexford, 1838–1843 among others.

1. Augustus was a Son of an Artist

Pugin was the son of a French draughtsman Auguste Pugin, an Anglo-French artist, writer on Medieval architecture, and architectural draughtsman. Pugin followed in his father’s footsteps, despite being an architect he was an artist as well.

Augustus’s father immigrated to England due to French Revolution. He was married to Catherine Welby from the family of Welby of Denton Lincolnshire, a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.

2. He Married at the Age of 19

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When Pugin was only 19 in 1831, he married his first wife known as Anne Garnet. Sadly, she died a few months later after their marriage during childbirth leaving a daughter behind.

He later married his second wife, Louisa Burton and they were blessed with children together, Edward Welby Pugin, an English architect the oldest son being one of them. The second wife died in 1844 leaving Pugin behind. In 1848, August Pugin remarried again and Jane Knill was her third wife, she kept a journal of their marital life from their marriage till Pugin’s death and it was published later.

3. Pugin was Father to Eight Children

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Pugin was blessed with 8 children from his three marriages. He married his first wife Anne at a young age and they were blessed with a daughter together known as Anne Powell.

After his first wife’s death Augustus remarried, Louisa Pugin, and later Jane Knill after his second wife’s death. Others of Pugin’s children are Edward Welby Pugin, Peter Paul Pugin, Cuthbert Welby Pugin, Mary Anne Pugin, John Hardman Powell Pugin, Isabella Pugin, and Sebastian Pugin Powell

4. Became a Widow at a Young Age

As stated before Augustus married at a young age. At the age of 19, he was already married to Anne Garnet. However, the marriage did not last for long since his wife died after a short time of their marriage.

Garnet died during the childbirth of their first daughter, Anne Powell, living Pugin a widow at a young age. He later remarried Louisa and in 1844 she died living Pugin a widow for the second time.

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5. Some of Pugin’s Children Followed in his Footstep and Became Architects

It is amazing to know that Pugin’s sons followed in his footsteps and joined the architectural field. Edward Welby Pugin and Peter Paul Pugin made significant contributions to Gothic Revival architecture in the 19^th century.

Both of his sons designed famous buildings and are remembered for their work in the architectural field. Edward was trained by his father in Gothic Revival architecture and worked in his father’s architectural practice. Some of the buildings he designed include St. Augustine’s Church in Ramsgate, St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Adelaide, and St. Peter’s Church in Vauxhall among others.

Peter’s notable works include the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus in Ramsgate, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, and St. Lawrence’s Church in Feltham among others.

6. Pugin Built a Gothic Revival -Style House for his Family

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When Pugin was still married to his second wife, he moved to Salisbury, Wiltshire, together with his wife in 1833. In the year 1835, he bought one-half an acre of land in Alderbury, located one and a half miles outside the town.

On the one-half acre of land, he built his family a Gothic Revival-style house and named it St. Marie’s Grange. Which is an amazing fact to be remembered about him.

7. Buildings he has Designed in Ireland

The English architect, Augustus Pugin has designed several buildings in Ireland. Initially, Pugin was invited to Ireland by the Redmond family to work in Country Wexford. He first arrived in Ireland in 1838 at a time of greater religious tolerance.

He Designed Several Religious Buildings.Some of the buildings he designed in Ireland include St. Peter’s College, Summerhill Road, Wexford, County Wexford, Loreto Convent, St. Michael’s Road, Gorey, County Wexford in 1842–1844, Houses, Midleton, County Cork for Viscount Midleton in 1845, St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, County Kildare in 1845–1850, Quadrangles, and Presentation Monastery, Port Road, Killarney, County Kerry in 1846–1862.

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8. Pugin was a Prolific Designer of Stained Glass

One of the amazing facts about Pugin is that he was a prolific designer of stained glass despite being a building designer. In the design of stained glass, he worked together with Thomas Willement, an English stained-glass artist.

He also worked with William Warrington, an English maker of stained-glass windows, and William Wailes, who was the proprietor of one of England’s largest and most prolific stained-glass workshops before he convinced his friend John Hardman to start stained-glass production.

9. He was a Migrant

A Migrate is a person who moved from one place to another mostly in search of work or better living conditions. Pugin moved to Salisbury, Wiltshire with his second wife Louisa Burton. In 1835, he bought a piece of land in Alderbury, one-half of an acre about 2.4 Km outside the town, where he built his family a Gothic Revival-style house.

After a few years of living in Salisbury, he found it an inconvenient base for his growing architectural practice and he left in 1841. He sold the house he had built here at a considerable financial loss and moved temporarily to Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London before he completed building his house on the land he had purchased at West Cliff, Ramsgate, Thanet in Kent.

10. Remembered for His Gothic Revival Style of Architecture

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Augustus left a positive legacy behind and is remembered for his Gothic Revival Style of Architecture. He was the leader of the style in the architecture of Victorian England.

The Gothic style replaced the classical style of architecture and gain popularity in the 19^th century from the power, wealth, and inspiration of the church.

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