Catholicism in England since Emancipation in 1829 has thrown up a number of dynasties specialising in architecture and the wider arts. Among these should undoubtedly be numbered the Pollens.
The Pollen family was originally from Lincolnshire. Edward Pollen, who died in 1636, became a London merchant, and successive Pollens represented Andover in the House of Commons. Edward Pollen’s great-grandson, John Pollen, was created 1st Baronet of Redenham (Hampshire) in 1795.
The latter’s grandson, John Hungerford Pollen (1820-1902), was educated at Eton and Christ Church College, Oxford; he was a Fellow of Merton College from 1842 to 1852. His architectural interests developed at a fairly young age. In 1842 he carried out restoration work at Wells Cathedral, where his uncle was Dean, and in 1850 he was responsible for the fine chapel ceiling of Merton College Chapel.
