View from one of the chapels at St Augustine's Abbey Church, next to St Edward's Presbytery.

Architect Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852), George Myers (builder), John Powell Hardman (stained glass and metalwork), Herbert Minton (tiles) John Gregory Crace (fabrics). 1845-52, with work continuing until 1893 and involving Edward Pugin (1834-75) and Peter Paul Pugin (1851-1904).

Knapped flint with bandings and dressings of Whitby stone; interior also lined with Whitby stone. St Augustine's Road, Ramsgate, Kent.

commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/pugin/31.html

St Augustine's Abbey Church was part of the group of buildings that included The Grange, the home that Pugin built for himself and his family in Ramsgate, Kent. The church was at the very heart of his vision of a life well lived. He built it at his own expense, with the best materials and craftsmanship he could lay hands on, taking account of local traditions — for example, using flint as his main building material, and giving the church only a single transept. It was both his "own child" (qtd. in Powell 26) and his gift to the Catholic community, for he always intended it to be "a Parochial church" (Belcher 265). As St Augustine's grew, it became his pride and joy, but also a constant challenge. "A vast undertaking, both physically and financially, it became a symbol for his battle of existence as an architect, a struggle to the death" (Hill 412).

If you want to visit go to the friends site at: http://www.augustinefriends.co.uk