Altar at St Cuthbert's College Chapel, Ushaw

Peter Paul Pugin

1890-91

"1890 Caen stone main altar by P.P. Pugin, with much rich carving; 1891 crocketed reredos" (chapel's listing text)

Ushaw, County Durham

The "reredos" with its tall pinnacle is perhaps more accurately described here: "A remarkable example of an altar being treated as an unimportant base for the exposition throne" (Anson 47). [Commentary continues below.]

Scanned image, formatting and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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The Pugins had been much involved at St Cuthbert's College, which used to be a Catholic seminary. The chapel there was originally built by A. W. N. Pugin in 1843-48 (Hill 517), and when it was rebuilt in 1882-85, to cater for a larger congregation, the architects Dunn & Hansom "made use of a number of elements from the earlier building in the new design" (listing text). In the late nineteenth century, Peter Paul Pugin was responsible for many additions to the main building, and his particular interest in altars led him to add this rather exceptional one to the chapel, along with its towering superstructure. Later still, in the early twentieth century, Sebastian Pugin Powell continued with enlargement projects, including memorial chapels. St Cuthbert's Chapel, however, has a higher listing (Grade II*) than the main buildings (which are Grade II listed).

Bibliography

Anson, Peter F. Churches, Their Plan and Furnishing. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1948. Internet Archive (Universal Digital Library). Web. 24 October 2019.

"Chapel Of College Of St Cuthbert / Roman Catholic Chapel At Ushaw College." English Heritage. Web. 24 October 2019.

Hill, Rosemary. God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain. London: Penguin, 2008.

"Main Buildings at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw." English Heritage. Web. 24 October 2019.

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Created 24 October 2019