Joseph Mallord William Turner

Trees and Houses ?beside the River Severn; Peveril Castle from the West; Manchester Cathedral

?1831

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Worcester and Shrewsbury Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 191 × 114 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D22225
Turner Bequest CCXXXIX 40 a

Catalogue entry

There are three sketches on this page, separated by pencil lines. Two were made with the page turned vertically, while the third, towards the gutter, is a continuation of trees from the river scene, perhaps on the Severn, on folio 41 recto opposite (D22226).

Across the middle is a prospect of a tower above steep slopes. Ian Warrell’s suggestion that this is Peveril Castle 1 seems correct, in which case it is seen from the west. There is another view from that direction on the opposite page. For other sketches of the castle, Castleton and Peak Cavern, see under folio 1 verso (D22152).

At the top is a view of Manchester Cathedral, then the Collegiate Church, with its series of prominent finials above the nave. The view is to the south-west from the vicinity of what is now Victoria Street in an area much changed, along the River Irwell towards Blackfriars Bridge. There is a view in the opposite direction on folio 12 recto (D22171), under which other Manchester views are mentioned.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

Ian Warrell, notes from 1993 and later in Tate catalogue files.

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