Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

by Pugin, his son Edward Welby Pugin, and his collaborator J.G. Crace, including at least eight designs signed by A.N.W. Pugin, some pencil, some ink and wash, including of gates, hatches, chimneys, panels, and the stable block, 1846-48, together with another c.6 designs attributed to Pugin, or annotated but not signed by him, including the “Firedogs Dining Room”, stableyard gateway, and doors; seven pen and wash designs signed by E.W. Pugin including the stable gate, chimneys and conservatory, 1854-59; one pencil pen and wash designed signed by J.G. Crace of a corridor, c.1845; and one pencil, pen and wash design signed by R. Jones of the stables; also with a duplicate contract for E.W. Pugin (“Specifications of Work to be done at Chirk Castle”, 8 pages, 1854); housed in a series of plastic wallets in four bundles, some tears, dust-staining, and other wear

[with:] a collection of correspondence relating to the restoration work at Chirk Castle including 10 autograph letters signed by A.W.N. Pugin, seven to Richard Myddelton Biddulph and three to N.J. Williams, mason at Chirk, discussing his work on Chirk Castle, sending plans, and incorporating three small sketches, with three autograph documents signed, listing designs and with specifications of work to be done, altogether 14 pages, 4to, [?July-August 1846]; E.W. Pugin, 3 autograph letters signed, to Biddulph, June-August 1854; Minton & Co., 4 letters to Biddulph, 1855-57; and related material, all housed in 22 tech-style plastic wallets

Chirk Castle sale, Christie's Wales, 21 June 2004, lots 500 and 502

Michael Hall, 'Chirk Castle', Country Life, 16 July 1992, 54-57

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An archive providing a detailed insight into Pugin's work at Chirk Castle, Wrexham, originally one of the Marcher castles of Edward I, which had passed into the possession of the Myddelton family in 1595. In 1846 the owner, Richard Myddelton Biddulph, commissioned Pugin to refashion the castle in the Gothic style. The work was mostly redecoration and furnishing rather than wholesale remodelling, but Pugin substantially reworked some areas including the entrance hall and the saloon, and E.W. Pugin remodelled the stables after his father's death. The commission provides ample evidence of Pugin's attention to deail, his willingness, as he put it in a letter to Middelton Biddulph, "to supply you with anything from a coal scuttle upwards of the true form designed on the real principles of the old men" (quoted in Hall). It was these very details, however that meant Pugin did not find it an easy commission: "Such a job as Chirk is enough to drive any man mad. All little things are as difficult to get properly done as the greatest. It is worse than the House of Lords" (Pugin to Crace, RIBA Collection, NAL, London, PUG/3/20).