[Photographs by the author, shown here by kind permission of the
Dean & Chapter. Click on the images to enlarge them: some
details cannot be seen in the smaller versions.] St Chad's Roman
Catholic Cathedral, Queensway (Inner Ring Road dual
carriageway), Birmingham, by A. W. N. Pugin (1812-1852) with
George Myers (1803-1875) as builder. 1837-41. The interior is
seen here at the start of a particularly joyous Mass for French-
speaking members of the community. Overlooking the congregation
on the right is a sixteenth-century oak statue of St Chad
holding a model of Lichfield Cathedral, where this "Apostle of
the Midlands" established his see in the seventh century. In
terms of its continued outreach and vibrancy, as well as of its
historic significance in the Catholic Revival, St Chad's is one
of Pugin's most important works. It also marks a major advance
in the architect's own career. John Betjeman was less than
complimentary about the exterior, describing it as "not much to
look at." But the interior was quite