Joseph Mallord William Turner

Staging and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument Beyond

?1824

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Old London Bridge Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 98 x 162 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D17877
Turner Bequest CCV 22 a

Catalogue entry

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, this study focuses on an array of piledrivers upstream of the southern end of Old London Bridge, preparing for the coffer-dams out of which the piers of the bridge’s replacement would rise; work began in March 1824, suggesting Turner drew these preliminary operations that spring or summer. In the distance to the north-east are the Monument and the tower of St Magnus the Martyr’s Church, and the artist has established a formal rhythm between these distant vertical features and those in the foreground.
More than half the drawings in this sketchbook show the river around the bridge, and are all likely to date from 1824; see the Introduction.
Technical notes:
There is some brown mottling, perhaps from proximity to the watercolour study on folio 23 recto opposite (D17878); a stroke of watercolour from the latter has strayed over the gutter here towards the top left.

Matthew Imms
December 2014

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Coffer-Dams and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Coffer-Dams and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Coffer-Dams and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument; Southwark Bridge with St Paul’s Cathedral’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Coffer-Dams and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument; Southwark Bridge with St Paul’s Cathedral

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side of the Pool of London, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument Beyond; the Tower of Southwark Cathedral’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side of the Pool of London, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument Beyond; the Tower of Southwark Cathedral

?1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge; Stagings, Piledrivers and the Thames Waterfront’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge; Stagings, Piledrivers and the Thames Waterfront

?1824
View by appointment D17891
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Arches of London Bridge under Construction, with the Monument and St Magnus the Martyr’s Church Beyond’ c.1827

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Arches of London Bridge under Construction, with the Monument and St Magnus the Martyr’s Church Beyond

c.1827
View by appointment D20751
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument across the Pool of London’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument across the Pool of London

?1824
View by appointment D17870
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Coffer-Dam and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with the Shot Tower Beyond’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Coffer-Dam and Piledrivers on the River Thames above Old London Bridge, with the Shot Tower Beyond

1824
View by appointment D17954
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge above the Pool of London, from the Southwark Side with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge above the Pool of London, from the Southwark Side with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond

?1824
View by appointment D17867
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Boats in the Pool of London below Old London Bridge, with St Paul’s Cathedral, St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Boats in the Pool of London below Old London Bridge, with St Paul’s Cathedral, St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument

?1824
View by appointment D17855
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge above the Pool of London, from the Southwark Side with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge above the Pool of London, from the Southwark Side with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond

?1824
View by appointment D17868
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Fishing Boats off Billingsgate in the Pool of London below Old London Bridge, with St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Fishing Boats off Billingsgate in the Pool of London below Old London Bridge, with St Paul’s Cathedral Beyond

?1824
View by appointment D17897
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Custom House, Monument and St Magnus the Martyr’ c.1825

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Custom House, Monument and St Magnus the Martyr

c.1825
View by appointment D07083
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument across the Pool of London; the Tower of St Olave’s Church’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge from the Southwark Side, with St Magnus the Martyr’s Church and the Monument across the Pool of London; the Tower of St Olave’s Church

?1824
View by appointment D17869
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge with Piledrivers and the Thames Waterfront below Southwark Cathedral’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge with Piledrivers and the Thames Waterfront below Southwark Cathedral

?1824
View by appointment D17846
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Old London Bridge with Piledrivers on the River Thames’ ?1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Old London Bridge with Piledrivers on the River Thames

?1824
View by appointment D17848