Description
Gouache over traces of pencil. This view is taken from the east looking over Sudeley Castle with the village of Winchcombe beyond. The earliest part of the castle was built by Ralph Boteler in the first half of the fifteenth century. He built the gateway, Portmare and Garderobe Towers, the church and the great barn. Edward IV gave the castle to his brother Richard and it was later the home of Katherine Parr, the last and surviving wife of Henry VIII. During the Civil War, Sudeley was a base for Charles I's nephew Prince Rupert, and, because of this, the Council of State in April 1649 ordered that the castle be 'slighted' or rendered unusable for military purposes. Accordingly, in August and September 1649, Sudeley was effectively demolished, roofs were removed and the buildings exposed to the elements. Much of the effects of the Cromwellian demolition can still be seen in Robins's view of more than a century later. Architectural fragments strew the ground, and the tall windows of the ruined Banqueting Hall (never in fact rebuilt) can clearly be seen in the centre of the composition. On the right, St. Mary's Church is obviously roofless and in ruins. During the 19th century, some parts of the Castle were rebuilt for the Dent family, who had purchased it in 1837, and, thanks largely to George Gilbert Scott's work from 1854, Sudeley now presents a very different appearance from that recorded by Thomas Robins in the 18th century. In addition to the rebuilding of the outer Court and the western side of the Inner Court, St. Mary's Church and Katherine Parr's elaborate tomb were magnificently restored by Scott between 1858 and 1863.
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
image © Guy Peppiatt Fine Art
Location
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England
Country
England
Medium
Watercolour
Tags
Category
Buildings & Architecture
