J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Midlands 1830 > Kenilworth Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Ruins of Dudley Priory with Dudley Castle Above 1830

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Ruins of Dudley Priory with Dudley Castle Above’ 1830
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 24 Recto:
The Ruins of Dudley Priory with Dudley Castle Above 1830
D22018
Turner Bequest CCXXXVIII 24
Pencil on white wove paper, 120 x 203 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘24’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXVIII – 24’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As part of unpublished Turner research informed by local knowledge, Dr Bernard Richards has identified the ruins as Dudley Priory;1 the keep of Dudley Castle stands above to the east-south-east. The Dudley College complex now stands between the two, although the scene is still recognisable.
There are two variant views, across the top of the page and at the bottom left, separated by pencil lines, and another on folio 23 verso opposite (D22017), which is continued here a little at the centre left. At the bottom right is the spire of St Thomas’s Church in the distance to the south, flanked by chimneys; the church can still be glimpsed through trees from the south-west side of Priory Park. For other views of Dudley see under folio 23 recto (D22016).
Finberg was incorrect in his suggestion that the subject was Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle, for which see under folio 21 verso (D22012; Turner Bequest CCXXXVIII 21).

Matthew Imms
August 2013

1
Conversation with the author, 14 May 2013.

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘The Ruins of Dudley Priory with Dudley Castle Above 1830 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-ruins-of-dudley-priory-with-dudley-castle-above-r1148659, accessed 20 September 2024.