Latest news with #Pugin
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Western Telegraph
Development plans for medieval Castlemartin church
The listed building consent application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park by Rachel Morley of Friends of Friendless Churches sought permission for the reglazing of the west window in the north aisle of the Grade-I-listed St Michaels Church, Church Lane, Castlemartin. A supporting statement through agent Andrew Faulkner Associates Ltd describes St Micheals, which includes a 12th century font, as 'a fine large rural medieval church (late 12th century) with an ancient history and much adaptation, particularly to the tower and east end'. It goes on to say: 'The north and south chapels, and the north transept, were removed in the fifteenth centuries. The 1858 restoration (David Brandon, commissioned by John Campbell, Earl of Cawdor) saw the church re-roofed, refloored (including the encaustic tiles in the chancel – with the Cawdor Arms in decoration) and refenestrated. It is from and after this period that most of the current leaded light glazing was introduced. 'The church houses a good collection of leaded light windows including the east window (depicting the ascension, by Heaton, Butler and Payne), the slype window (depicting St Michael, possibly also by Heaton, Butler and Payne, around 1900) and the south transept (Crucifixion, designed by Pugin – the only surviving Pugin window in any Welsh church – and the last remaining window made by Hard, one of five originally installed in the church) Pugin. Other windows are more ordinary 19th century work of strongly C19th character.' It adds: 'Overall, the building is in good structural order and benefits hugely from having had all of the main roofs relaid in recent decades. Recent repairs have seen improvements to the condition of the walls and the significant leaded light windows. 'Future repair programmes intend to continue this work, address localised leaks and problems associated with the walls and roof of the tower. 'The church is an important rural ecclesiastical building or medieval origin containing important elements of fabric and fittings. Listed at Grade I it is considered to be a particularly important building of 'exceptional interest'.' On the works proposed, it says: 'While the church has a fine collection of leaded lights and painted glass (including the only window in Wales designed by Pugin), the west window of the north aisle is made of large sheets of modern plate glass, with rusty ferramenta, and in poor condition.' The application will be considered at a later date.
BBC News
12-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
How a lord forced the entire Surrey village of Albury to move
Villages have been evacuated for many reasons over the years, including flood, fire and plague, but one Surrey village was emptied purely on the whim of a lord of the 1784, Capt William Finch bought Albury Manor and quickly set about forcing people from the homes on his land."He just didn't want the local people living near his own manor house and so after closing the road, he demolished all their cottages and they had to go and live outside his estate," said Trevor Brook, from Albury History that remains of the original Albury is a Saxon church and a former pub, which later became the estate manager's house, but the 20 cottages which made up the village are long gone. Finch made life as difficult as possible for Albury residents by closing the road through the village, which ran between Shalford and people were forced to walk up to what is now the Albury bypass to get to the neighbouring villages.A "campaign of harassment" against the villagers continued for years and by the 1820s they had all been forced to nearby Farley Green, Albury Heath or Weston Street - the latter becoming what is now known as Albury."It's a piece of history that shouldn't be forgotten," said Trevor."Lords of the manor could clear it, fence it and throw anyone who lived within the boundary out of the place completely."In 1842, Albury Manor had been sold to Henry Drummond MP, who built houses with beautiful Pugin chimneys in Weston Street for the people previously displaced from what was now his Albury Manor remains a private residence, however the public can still visit the Saxon church of St Peter and St Paul's, which is maintained by a group of volunteers and stands as a reminder of the 20 households who were forced from their homes.
The Independent
14-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Is there a case for bringing parliamentary procedure into the 21st century?
Antiquated', 'rowdy' and 'weak' are some of the main criticisms levelled at the House of Commons in evidence provided to the Commons modernisation committee, which is chaired by the leader of the House, Lucy Powell. A variety of interested parties, including the Hansard Society and the Commons women and equalities committee, have submitted proposals for reform that are designed to make the place more accessible, in every sense, as well as inclusive. Powell says: 'The role of an MP has changed: no longer just legislators, [we are] increasingly helping constituents with problems, being visible and active in the communities we represent. We have a greater diversity of MPs and a broader range of political parties in the Commons than ever before, but some of our processes and procedures don't reflect this new reality.' No doubt traditionalists will be horrified... Is the right honourable lady serious? Yes, it would seem so, and it is certainly true that for many members of the public, terms such as 'honourable member', 'second reading', 'debate on the adjournment', 'reasoned amendment', 'privilege', 'humble address' – and, indeed, 'leader of the house' – are opaque. Most reporting on parliament, to be fair, adds sufficient context and explanation to make sense of proceedings for the average interested member of the public, but anyone diving into the BBC Parliament channel – or, less likely, picking up a copy of the official record, Hansard, or reading it online – will find things sometimes difficult to follow. Obviously, like the Ruritanian uniforms and ornate Pugin interiors, parliamentary traditions have a long and glorious past, and such ceremonials as the State Opening of Parliament serve to remind people of the struggles for democratic supremacy in Britain. On the other hand, the country does have a problem with participation, and with confidence in its politicians. What about PMQs? For the public, this is the noisy highlight of the week – the one parliamentary moment virtually guaranteed to be on the news and clipped for social media. It's a lively event, as the main political leaders clash in this most intense of cockpits. Sometimes clear divisions open up between the parties, which clarifies public understanding; but there is also obfuscation, and MPs can at times be guilty of terminological inexactitudes. The women and equalities committee certainly finds such sessions unsatisfactory. The 'chairman' – a sexist and contested term – Sarah Owen (Labour, Luton North) complains that heckling by MPs 'must be addressed': 'Booing and jeering does not belong in any workplace, let alone one that is subject to public scrutiny, and which should be setting an example for others.' The danger, of course, is that the adversarial nature of the Commons is turned into the more restrained, and frankly boring, atmosphere seen in, for example, the Scottish parliament, the EU parliament, or the US Senate, where debates are stultifyingly boring and attract even less public interest. Anything else? Yes. Some major issues are hoving into view, not least that of MPs having second (and third, fourth, or even fifth) jobs. They cannot have it both ways, after all. Either they are too overworked and under-resourced to carry out their legislative and constituency duties properly, or they can organise their busy lives well enough to host television shows, practise at the Bar, serve as company directors or local councillors, and even make online greeting videos on request. Will Powell succeed? The forces of conservatism in the Commons, which have seen off previous attempts at reform, are usually formidable; but the turnover at the 2024 general election was so dramatic that there has been no better moment since around the turn of the century to get things changed. Powell and her colleagues will bring forward recommendations, and nothing will change quickly. There may be some useful simplification of jargon and procedures, and the minor parties and backbenchers might get some more time and attention. Given the public mood, second jobs are likely to be a little more restricted. On the other hand, most of the still generous 'expenses', perks, and astonishingly long and frequent 'recesses' (more or less holidays) will likely be left unmolested. There are limits, after all.
