Memorial brasses are a celebrated feature of many English churches and can be found throughout central and north-western Europe. After the productive period of the Middle Ages the craft declined but there was a spectacular revival in the 19th century to which Pugin made a very important contribution. This book gives insight into Pugin's talent as a designer in the decorative arts and sets his work on brasses into the context of the religious revival and the improving fortunes of the Roman Catholic Church in the first half of the 19th century. Meara describes Pugin's methods, his close collaboration with John Hardman, a brass manufacturer in Birmingham, and the industrial history of the Midlands over this period.