Description
A hand-coloured etching of the gardens at Montagu House (the British Museum) during the encampment set up during the Gordon Riots in 1780. Tents on the right, the house on the left, and several groups of fashionable figures in the foreground. Inscribed on the mount with the supposed names of the sitters, left to right: 'Sir John Donelly [sic - presumably Sir John Dineley], Bart., Poor Knight of Windsor; Mr Gandon, Architect of Dublin and his family; Sir Thomas Rich; Archbishop Moore; Mrs Fitzpatrick, daughter of Mr Vardy, Architect; a corporal in the York Regiment, remarkable for his great strength in the arms'. A hand-coloured outline etching for an aquatint of the same subject published in 1783. A pencil drawing in the British Museum shows the same subject (1994, 1105. 5).
In early June 1780, initially peaceful protests against the concessions of the first Catholic Relief Act of 1778 turned to riots in the streets of London and Westminster. In response to the violence, encampments were set up in St. James's Park, Hyde Park and the gardens of Montagu House, and remained in place for several months. The camps became places of fashionable spectacle and entertainment. By this date Sandby lived in St. George's Row opposite Hyde Park and was well placed to observe the activity there. He submitted several views of the camps to the Royal Academy in 1781.
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017
Location
Montagu House, London, England
Country
England
Medium
Print
Tags
Category
People & Society
