Joseph Mallord William Turner

Jervaulx Abbey from the South-East

1816

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Yorkshire 1 Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 97 × 154 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D10951
Turner Bequest CXLIV 46

Catalogue entry

This view of the ruins of Jervaulx Abbey was taken from the park to the south-east, and was probably Turner’s first impression on arrival at the site. Two more detailed studies from a similar aspect, made on the same visit, are in the Yorkshire 3 sketchbook (Tate D11397–D11398 and D11399–D11400; Turner Bequest CXLVI 18a–19 and 19a–20).
Jervaulx Abbey is about four miles north-west of Masham on the road to Middleham. Jervaulx was founded in 1156 as a Cistercian monastery and flourished until its dissolution in 1537. The church was fairly comprehensively razed, but substantial remains of the cloisters and other buildings survive. The site is privately owned and managed in a particularly sensitive way. In the summer the site is a profusion of flowers that enjoy the dry limestone environment.

David Hill
January 2009

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