CHAPTER VIII.

His Second Marriage-Industry in copying Illustrations in the Cathedral Library-Success in his Profession-Proposes to sell St. Marie's Grange Designs for altering Longford Castle-Eccentric

Habits - Amusing Anecdote

Improves the Vestments at the Roman Catholic Chapel - Readiness to give Professional Advice— Death of his Father and Mother.

IN 1833 Pugin married Miss Louisa Burton, and went to reside at Salisbury, a city he greatly admired, having visited it with his mother, and stayed some days there, on his way to Christchurch in 1828. Mrs. Pugin being a friend of the Reverend Mr. Greenly, the librarian of the Cathedral, this gentleman gave Pugin free access to the valuable volumes under his charge, a privilege of which he was not slow to avail himself. For many hours together he was in the habit of shutting himself up copying the beautiful illuminations of the ancient missals and service books. There was not a page of any interest from which he failed to glean something; and he made a surprising number of drawings in an incredibly short space of time. His sketches also of the Cathedral fill a quarto volume, illustrating in practice the precepts which he afterwards laid down in his famous Apology for the Revival of Christian Architecture in England,' 'whose glorious

cathedrals are volumes of ancient art which lie open

for all inquirers.'

While residing at Salisbury he became intimate with the Reverend Mr. Greenly, Lord Radnor, and Messrs Lambert, Reed, and Fisher; and although his secession from the Church of England grieved some of his friends, the circumstance occasioned no interruption in their friendship. On his first visit finding the house in an unfinished state, excepting the room which Pugin used as his study; Lord R-r, omitting to remove his hat at once entered into conversation, the only reply he met with was a look of astonishment. Pugin rang the bell and ordered his hat; placing it on his head, he said, 'Now, my lord, I am ready.' In this well-merited rebuke Pugin resembled his father, who was very susceptible of affront, and sometimes even threatened to show people the door if proper courtesy was not shown him in conversation.

The erection of his house on so novel a plan, and the publication of the Contrasts,' were the main causes of his success. His business soon greatly increased, and led him in so many various directions, that he found Salisbury hardly central enough for a fixed residence;-and his wife not liking the place, he determined if possible to let the house and grounds. In his letters to Mr. Fisher at this time, he refers to the overwhelming amount of business pressing upon him, and indicates the class of buildings on which he was engaged. Writing from Alton Towers in June 1839, he says: 'I am full of business, and long to talk

over my operations with you. My church at Birmingham will be a truly grand affair, filled with rich carving and decoration. I have several large churches to do in Ireland, and five near Birmingham, so that I am almost worked to death, and all my business, excepting Downside Priory, lies quite wide of Salisbury. I do not see the probability of my being able to reside there for years. I must do something regarding my house; it cannot go on in this manner, and I am most anxious to have your advice about it. My whole prospects are entirely changed since I built it. I was then almost without architectural business, and I have now more than I can well do; indeed every moment of my time is occupied. I wish to let my house at a moderate rent. I do not like the idea of selling it, because I have no occasion for so doing, but I do not like so much money sunk without any return whatever.'

In another letter he says: 'I have now an immense deal of business, and if I live on two or three years shall have done something worth looking at. Some of my buildings in Derby, Wexford, &c., will be completed early this summer. I have got the great church at Liverpool, with a crypt 150 feet long by 60 wide, well vaulted.' Again in the next communication he says: 'I have twice as much as I can do, though I work early and late. Were I not driven at this moment beyond my strength, you should not wait a moment.' After a lapse of some time, he writes once more: 'I shall come down to Salisbury, when I

shall want the deeds of my house, as it is most improbable I shall ever be able to live there, and I have quite determined on disposing of it.' This he even tually did in 1841, the property being put up to public auction and purchased for £500 by Mr. Staples, the gentleman from whom he had originally bought the ground.

This was a great sacrifice of money, for Pugin had expended upwards of £2000 on the building alone, and never thought, when erecting it according to his own fancy, (the rooms communicating without any common passage,) that the house would be unsuited to other people's requirements in the event of his wishing to sell it. To build a house according to Pugin's early notions was no easy matter, so many modern usages had to be given up; and several humorous disputes arose with the builder during its progress. He would have enormously thick walls and deep splays to the windows, strong oak bars for fastenings, and not a scrap of plaster or battening where such materials were usually put. There was attached to the house a small oratory, with a window opening to his bed-room, so that in case of illness he might participate in the service going on at the altar; he also spoke of providing an endowment for a Priest to celebrate the services, but he never carried his intention into effect, probably seeing the impossibility of retaining St. Marie's Grange as his fixed residence. It does not appear that Pugin obtained much business in the south-western counties. Additions and alterations at

Longford Castle were under consideration, but nothing was carried into effect. There are, however, in the possession of the Reverend Mr. Greenly, of Salisbury, some beautiful drawings which he made for improving the façades of that curious structure, and also for the building of a bridge of suitable character over the river near the castle. These designs are very masterly, and showed the perfect knowledge he possessed of the peculiar combination and details of the Jacobean period. He had studied buildings of this date very closely, having in 1829 made the most elaborate drawings of Hatfield House.* Unfortunately the fashion of the day was favourable to the erection of buildings in that debased style, so that Pugin's attention was rather too much devoted to its details, when he would have preferred adopting the architecture of a purer type. The design for the bridge just mentioned is extremely graceful: it consists of three elliptical arches, the central arch being much the widest; the piers are surmounted by pedestals, bearing the arms and insignia of the Radnor family, the ends and sides of the bridge flanked with massive pillars, and the pierced parapets are also ornamented with excellent devices.

The only works which Pugin really executed at or near Salisbury, were the Roman Catholic church, a pleasing building in the town, and a lodge for Sir

* In his diary are these entries: 'September 21. Went to Hatfield House with my friend Ferrey to make sketches.' 'October 1st. Started with Ferrey for Hurstmonceaux Castle, to make sketches for Gothic examples.'

H