St Augustine’s cost Pugin approximately £2,000, according to Stanton’s calculations. The project began in 1840 and was finished in 1850, two years before his death; however, he projected was never truly completed for the spire was never built. Pugin reputably only made one plan for the church; the majority of his strategy grew out his enthusiasm for the project. He utilised local flint and stone; the walls are made of flint and are trimmed with lighter Whitby stone.
The church is divided into nave and sanctuary, with a transeptal south chapel. There are three wide aisles; the widest aisle leading directly to the altar and a smaller one on the further side which leads to the Lady Chapel. In the centre of the nave, are the huge supports for the ill-fated spire, illustrating the architect’s belief in truthfulness in architectural design for instead of attempting to disguise these structural necessities, Pugin allowed them to remain in plain view. The inside of St Augustine’s is virtually lit by light streaming through the stained-glass windows, giving the interior a heightened sense of mysticism. Both the nave and the chancel have a south-aisle and south chapel and the tracery on the window is late geometrical in design. The piers in the nave have capitals decorated with foliage and there is a large fifteenth century cross, hanging above the nave, that Pugin himself purchased for the church. The font, with its elaborately decorated wooden hood, was displayed at the Great Exhibition, and is of cathedral proportions. The ornate altar was designed by Peter Paul and was carved by Thomas Earp and is again indicative of Pugin’s combination of the practical and the mystical; the alter provides the area for Holy Communion, an act which is architecturally commented on by the elaborate
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