|

Easter Sepulchre at St Giles, Cheadle
Architect: A.W.N. Pugin (1840s)
Drawing: A.W.N. Pugin (1840s)
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Drawings & Archives Collection

Pugin was much employed in the 1840s because of his masterful sense of line and colour. This meant he was able to create striking exteriors as well as sumptuous interiors with intense atmosphere.

St Giles is the perfect example of this. Its exterior dominates Cheadle and the surrounding countryside, its spire and many gables together forming an unforgettably spiky silhouette. Inside, colour was combined with line, creating an unparalleled richness. The nave pillars are painted in chevron patterns; the walls stencilled like wallpaper; and all around jewel-like stained glass glitters.

This drawing, for the Easter Sepulchre (a recessed arch in the sanctuary) and pulpit, reveals Pugin’s eye for detail: the mouldings have been carefully drawn; masonry joints noted; and the sculpture crisply marked out. Once constructed, this then received its bold colour scheme and gold embellishments, making this truly sumptuous. Obviously this was the product of an obsessive, hard-working architect. Intent to revive Gothic, Pugin exhausted himself, going to his grave aged just forty.