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

Of the six sketches that Turner made when he passed Newark Castle on his way to Selkirk from St Mary’s Loch (folios 36–38 verso; D26164–D26169), this is the most detailed and satisfactorily composed. Standing across the Yarrow Water to the north of the castle, this view must have reminded Turner of the sketch he made in the Abbotsford sketchbook in 1831 (Tate D26066; Turner Bequest CCLXVII 79), and the subsequent watercolour that was engraved as a vignette illustration to volume six of Sir Walter Scott’s Poetical Works: Newark Castle, circa 1832 (private collection).1

In the sketch, the castle stands on the edge of a projecting bank above the Yarrow Water. To the left is Newark Mill, and behind the castle is Pernassie Hill. Turner noted the road (‘Rd’) on which he was travelling, which can be seen at the very bottom left of the page. For more information about Turner’s route see Edinburgh sketchbook 1834 Introduction.