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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner Lewes, with the Church of St John sub Castro 1845

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Lewes, with the Church of St John sub Castro’ 1845
Folio 2 Verso:
Lewes, with the Church of St John sub Castro 1845
D35264
Turner Bequest CCCLIV 2a
Pencil on white wove paper, 72 x 103 mm
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This view is taken from the north-west, looking over the Sussex town of Lewes towards the South Downs in the background. At the left, Turner outlines the distinctive castellated tower of the church of St John sub Castro, which had been rebuilt to house a growing congregation in 1839.1 A large building can be seen in the centre, while softer lines at the right suggest either a clump of trees or possibly smoke rising in the distance.
1
John Allen, ‘Lewes – St John-sub-Castro’, Sussex Parish Churches, accessed 14 March 2025, https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/lewes-st-john-sub-castro/.
Technical Notes:
There is a crease running diagonally at the bottom-left corner and a dent approximately 1mm wide at the centre of the left-hand (outer) edge.

Amy Concannon
May 2025

How to cite

Amy Concannon, ‘Lewes, with the Church of St John sub Castro 1845’, catalogue entry, May 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, July 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/lewes-with-the-church-of-st-john-sub-castro-r1214174, accessed 11 July 2026.