AUGUSTUS WELBY NORTHMORE PUGIN (1812-1852) OR EDWARD WELBY PUGIN (1834-1875) NEEDLEWORK RUG, CIRCA wool, with later linen backing, with later cotton binding to each end, the panel a section of a larger carpet, panels bearing the cypher M with coronet

(225cm x 112.5cm)

Provenance: St. Leonards - Mayfield Chapel, Mayfield, Sussex, England. Note: The remains of a medieval palace belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury was converted into a school, Mayfield School of the Holy Child, by Edward Welby Pugin in 1863-6. This needlework rug originally ran the entire length of the Chapel. Due to the sheer scale of the work, the rug was constructed in small, panelled sections and later stitched together to form the carpet. Hand-stitched by the sisters of Mayfield Chapel, the carpet was produced for Mother Cornelia Connelly, founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. As in other projects, E.W. Pugin continued to use the decorative designs of his father of which this may be one.