Description
Pen and grey ink and watercolour on five sheets of paper joined on original washline mount. This is one of the largest known watercolours by Towne and dates from his tour to North Wales and Shropshire in the summer of 1777. The first drawing from the tour, numbered 1, is of Bridgenorth and is dated 20th June and the last is a view of Glastonbury Abbey numbered no. 54 and presumably drawn on his return journey. Another view of Ludlow Castle, numbered no. 45, is in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (see Timothy Wilcox, Francis Towne, exhibition catalogue, 1997, no. 10, p. 48, ill.) and view of the interior of the Great Room, Ludlow is in Plymouth City Art Gallery.
Ludlow Castle is situated on a promontory between the Rivers Corve and Teme overlooking the town of Ludlow. Begun as a Norman fortress, and transformed into a Royal Palace during Medieval times, it is now owned by the Earls of Powis and is open to the public. The hill in the distance behind the castle is Titterstone Clee Hill, sometimes referred to incorrectly, as Clee Hill (which is a lower hill to the east). Rising 533 m above sea level, the strange shaped summit is effectively man-made, the result of both hill fort construction during the Bronze and Iron Ages and, more recently, by years of mining for coal and quarrying for stone used in road-building.
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
image © Guy Peppiatt Fine Art
Location
Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, England
Country
England
Tags
Category
Buildings & Architecture