Five Pugin details

 It's Friday again and time to take part in Amy's Five on Friday meme. Click the image at the bottom of the post to be taken to her site and see other people's entries.

The Catholic Church of St Giles in Cheadle, Staffordshire is a fantasy structure with a richly decorated interior and gothic-esque exterior. The design is the work of one man - Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. Although he contributed to many well known buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, there are very few places where he had sole control of the final design. It's stunning.

Let's start with the west door, before we go inside. Aren't those rampant lions wonderful? And all that gothic detail around the door is very reminiscent of the Middle Ages, even though St Giles was built in the 1840s.

Here's another wonderful gothic detail from the exterior. I'm a sucker for a dragon and this one seems rather splendid to me.

Inside, every surface is covered in detailed decoration. This section of a pillar shows the complex letter Gs (for St Giles) incorporated in the design.

This shot shows just how much decoration the church has. No surface escapes. Every item is highly ornate and brightly coloured; painted and gilded and shaped into fantastic structures. There's a lot to take in.

And here's a part of the wall. showing how complex patterns are put side by side, adding to the myriad, contrasting styles that make up the whole. I love the colour and the cacophony and the impossibly crazy, mind blowing impression the building leaves you with.


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