Matt Wood, one of our members, has been doing a lot of research online and has made some fascinating finds. for example, he has discovered some notes made by Pugion for a lecture he was giving at Oscott College on neo-Gothic architecture. In the notes he included drawings of windows - and they are the windows of St. John's, picured! He was pointing out the "ancient irregular joints" - that is, the uneven size of the stone surround - apparently, if the stones are even, it is not true neo-Gothic. This is an important discovery because the lack of direct documentary evidence from Pugin himself means that we are not certain which features of St John's he designed. This indicates the windows as well as the East window with its martlet.
Matt also found a letter from a priest who was a curate at St. John's in 1864. This also says quite definitely that the church was designed by Pugin. The letter is remarkable in many other ways, and gives a wonderful pen portrait of the Catholic community in Melton in the 1860s. We are hoping that Matt will add a page to this website giving details of all his fascinating finds.
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