St. James's with the Village of Charing as It Appeared in ye Reign of Henry VIII n.d.

Augustus Charles Pugin made this watercolor of St. James’s with the Village of Charing, at a time when the romantic gaze towards the medieval past was very fashionable. The artist invites us to imagine what the area of Westminster, in London, may have looked like in the reign of Henry VIII. Yet, this image is as much about the past as it is about the present. In Pugin’s time, rapid urbanization threatened historical buildings and traditional ways of life. The image emphasizes the contrast between the established order of St. James’s Palace and the more modest village. Consider how this might reflect the social hierarchies of the time, with the monarchy and aristocracy standing apart from the lives of ordinary people. The image invites viewers to reflect on what has been lost or transformed. It captures a moment of nostalgia for a pre-industrial era, tinged with the social anxieties of a rapidly changing society.