Original sketches of Ushaw College by the architect who helped design the Houses of Parliament have been reproduced for the exhibition to commemorate the college’s 200th anniversary.
The sketches were drawn by English architect and designer Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. They date from the 1840s and show details from the architect’s designs for the college’s chapel. The originals – which are in the College archives have been scanned and reprinted using the latest digital technology. These reproductions of originals of more than 160 years ago are on display at the College in an exhibition that runs until July. The sketches were scanned by Napper Architects of Newcastle, and reprinted by Consett-based photographer Paul Green, of Upmyway Photography.
Ushaw College’s Director of Estates and Facilities, Peter Seed, said: “There has been a lot of interest about Augustus Pugin and his followers in the gothic revival style in recent years and we’re delighted to have the work of such a renowned architect and designer on display at Ushaw during the bicentenary celebrations. It was an amazing sight to see such good reproductions of AW Pugin’s sketches, first drawn in the 19th century, ready for exhibition with many other artefacts relating to architects at Ushaw.”
Pugin, who gained his reputation by designing interiors for the Houses of Parliament, designed and built St Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle, and cathedrals in Birmingham, Southwark, Nottingham and Killarney, began his work at Ushaw with designs for a Chapel in 1839. Initial designs were rejected and work finally began in 1844. This began an association between the college and the Pugin family that lasted nearly 100 years, and although other notable architects worked at the college during this period, the gothic revival style that Augustus Pugin introduced endured.
Pugin’s sons, Edward Welby and Peter Paul, who were also both architects, continued work for Ushaw College. EW Pugin completed St Joseph’s Chapel and the Cloister following his fathers death in 1852, and was the architect for the Infirmary, the Junior Seminary, the Chapels of St Charles and St Michael, and the kitchens and laundry all in the later 1850s. In the 1890s, his brother Peter Paul Pugin contributed the High Altar in St Cuthbert’s Chapel – the chapel which replaced the one originally designed by his father – and the swimming pool.
The exhibition, which includes the Pugin sketches, is free to the public and will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2 to 5pm, from Saturday, April 26 to Sunday, July 13 inclusive.
As well as the exhibition, there will be a medieval weekend on June 14 and 15, with a medieval banquet also taking place on the evening of June 14. There will be a Flower Festival from June 12 to 15, and a series of concerts in April May and June. A specially commissioned book, telling the history of the college and illustrated by dozens of new photos, is also available, priced £25.
For more media information or interviews about the bicentenary, contact Peter Seed at Ushaw College on 0191 373 8505, or Ged Naughton on 0773 808 8614.