E. W. Pugin


Edward Welby Pugin was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton. His father was an architect in the Gothic Revival style, and after his early death in 1852 Edward continued his practice. At the time of his own early death in 1875, Pugin had designed and completed more than one hundred Catholic churches. His brothers Cuthbert and Peter continued the practice as Pugin & Pugin.

Career

From c.1856 he developed a style independent of his father's, in which expansive spatial planning was combined with great detail. He designed churches and cathedrals primarily in the British Isles. However, commissions for his work were also received from countries throughout Western Europe, Scandinavia, and North America.
As his business grew, Pugin formed partnerships which turned out to be short-lived: with James Murray in Liverpool, with George Ashlin in Dublin, and with Joseph Hansom. He was bankrupted in 1873 by the failure of a business he was involved in, the Granville Hotel and spa at Ramsgate, Kent.
Pugin was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1862.

Personal life

Pugin was unmarried. He died on 5 June 1875 as a result of "overwork and injudicious use of chloral hydrate".

Works in Ireland

Rugby Town Hall and Markets

The old Town Hall stood on the High Street. It was built in 1857, with an extension in 1919. The upper floor became a cinema around 1913. A fire destroyed most of the building in 1921 and it was rebuilt as Woolworths, which opened in 1923 and closed in 2009.

Works in association with George Ashlin (1859-1869)

Regarded as Dublin's finest Victorian church, SS Augustine and John in the Liberties area was designed by E. W. Pugin and executed by his partner George Ashlin for the Augustinian Fathers. It was built between 1862 and 1895. It has the tallest spire in Dublin, and occupies a prominent position on high ground overlooking the Liffey Valley. It has a striking polychromatic appearance, being built in granite with red sandstone dressings.
The eminent Gothic revivalist Ruskin is said to have praised it, describing it as a "poem in stone".
Statues of the apostles in the niches of the spire are by James Pearse, father of Padraig and Willie, who were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising.
There is stained glass from the Harry Clarke studios.
  • Presentation Convent, Fethard, County Tipperary
  • , Dublin ;
  • Donnybrook Catholic Church, Dublin
  • Monkstown Catholic Church, County Dublin
  • Arles Catholic Church, Stradbally, County Laois
  • Ferrybank Catholic Church, Waterford
  • Kilanerin Catholic Church, Wexford
  • Lady's Island Catholic Church, County Wexford