Augustus Pugin (1812 - 1852). Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect, designer, artist and critic who is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. His work culminated in designing the interior of the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England, and its iconic clock tower, later renamed the Elizabeth Tower, which houses the bell known as Big Ben. Pugin designed many churches in England and some in Ireland and Australia. He was the son of Auguste Pugin, and the father of Edward Welby and Peter Paul Pugin, who continued his architectural firm as Pugin & Pugin. He also created Alton Castle in Alton, Staffordshire. Pugin was the son of the French draughtsman Auguste Pugin, who had emigrated to England as a result of the French Revolution and had married Catherine Welby of the Welby family of Denton, Lincolnshire, England. Augustus was born on 1 March 1812 at his parents' house in Bloomsbury, London, England. Between 1821 and 1838, Pugin's father had published a series of volumes of architectural drawings, the first two entitled Specimens of Gothic Architecture and the following three Examples of Gothic Architecture, that not only remained in print but were the standard references for Gothic architecture for at least the next century. As a child, his mother took Pugin each Sunday to the services of the fashionable Scottish Presbyterian preacher Edward Irving, at his chapel in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, Camden, London. Pugin quickly rebelled against this version of Christianity: according to Benjamin Ferrey, Pugin always expressed unmitigated disgust at the cold and sterile forms of the Scottish church; and the moment he broke free from the trammels imposed on him by his mother, he rushed into the arms of a church which, pompous by its ceremonies, was attractive to his imaginative mind. Pugin learned drawing from his father, and for a while attended Christ's Hospital. After leaving school he worked in his father's office, and in 1825 and 1827 accompanied him on visits to France. His first commissions independent of his father were for designs for the goldsmiths Rundell and Bridge, and for designs for furniture of Windsor Castle from the upholsterers Morrel and Seddon. Through a contact made while working at Windsor, he became interested in the design of theatrical scenery, and in 1831 obtained a commission to design the sets for the production of the new opera Kenilworth at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He also developed an interest in sailing, and briefly commanded a small merchant schooner trading between Great Britain and Holland, which allowed him to import examples of furniture and carving from Flanders, with which he later furnished his house at Ramsgate in Kent. During one voyage in 1830 he was wrecked on the Scottish coast near Leith, as a result of which he came into contact with Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham, who advised him to abandon seafaring for architecture. He then established a business supplying historically accurate carved wood and stone detailing for the increasing number of buildings being constructed in the Gothic Revival style, but the enterprise quickly failed. In 1831, at the age of 19, Pugin married the first of his three wives, Anne Garnet. Anne died a few months later in childbirth, leaving him a daughter. He had a further six children, including the architect Edward Welby Pugin, with his second wife, Louisa Burton, who died in 1844. His third wife, Jane Knill, kept a journal of their marital life, from their marriage in 1848 to Pugin's death, which was later published. Their son was the architect Peter Paul Pugin. Following his second marriage in 1833, Pugin moved to Salisbury, Wiltshire, with his wife, and in 1835 bought half an acre of land in Alderbury, about one and a half miles outside the town. On this he built a Gothic Revival style house for his family, which he named St. Marie's Grange. Of it, Charles Eastlake said he had not yet learned the art of combining a picturesque exterior with the ordinary comforts of an English home. In 1834, Pugin converted to the Roman Catholic Church and was received into it the following year. Pugin's father, Auguste-Charles Pugin was a Frenchman who had immigrated to England as a result of the French Revolution, and probably, like many others, converted to the Anglican Church in order to obtain employment, because it was very improbable that any non-Anglican would obtain a governmental commission or tender, for example.