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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case A, Shelf 143

Drawing

1852 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Abney Hall is situated in Cheadle, Cheshire. It was built in 1847 for Alfred Orrell a cotton-mill owner. After his death in 1849 it was bought by James Watts a Manchester merchant and mayor. Pugin helped with the redecoration for Watts, supplying designs to J.G. Crace. These designs for Abney Hall are amongst Pugin's last. He suffered from poor health whilst producing these designs and died later that year; the designs themselves seem to have been executed at speed, with a slightly shaky hand.

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) is widely considered as one of the most significant and influential architects, designers and theorists of the 19th century. Following his conversion to Catholicism in 1835, he identified the Gothic style with Christian architecture and his work and writings inspired and framed the Gothic Revival. In ‘Contrasts’, published in 1836, he condemned classical forms and ardently praised 14th and 15th-century architecture. Pugin is best remembered for his work on the Palace of Westminster.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink over pencil
Brief description
Sketch plan for library ceiling for Abney Hall; A.W.N. Pugin, 1852.
Physical description
Sketch plan of a quarter of the library ceiling and a detail of a transverse section of ceiling.
Dimensions
  • Height: 495mm
  • Width: 310mm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'library ceiling' 'transverse section' 'Library Watts House' (with notes on construction and colours.)
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Abney Hall is situated in Cheadle, Cheshire. It was built in 1847 for Alfred Orrell a cotton-mill owner. After his death in 1849 it was bought by James Watts a Manchester merchant and mayor. Pugin helped with the redecoration for Watts, supplying designs to J.G. Crace. These designs for Abney Hall are amongst Pugin's last. He suffered from poor health whilst producing these designs and died later that year; the designs themselves seem to have been executed at speed, with a slightly shaky hand.

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) is widely considered as one of the most significant and influential architects, designers and theorists of the 19th century. Following his conversion to Catholicism in 1835, he identified the Gothic style with Christian architecture and his work and writings inspired and framed the Gothic Revival. In ‘Contrasts’, published in 1836, he condemned classical forms and ardently praised 14th and 15th-century architecture. Pugin is best remembered for his work on the Palace of Westminster.
Bibliographic reference
Alexandra Wedgwood, A.W.N. Pugin and the Pugin Family , London; V&A, 1985, pp. 188-189.
Collection
Accession number
D.909-1908

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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