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

There are four drawings here, made with the page turned vertically and separated by horizontal pencil lines; the first two are numbered. As noted by Ian Warrell, the second is a view of Bakewell1 from the east, looking towards All Saints Church beyond the River Wye, where a ‘Fall’ is noted. There are several weirs along this stretch of the river. There is a similar view on folio 32 recto (D22208); for other Bakewell views see under folio 30 verso (D22205).

The first and third drawings are labelled ‘Mid’. The subject was qualified as ‘Not Middleton in Teesdale’ by A.J. Finberg (died 1939) and the watercolour and Turner scholar C.F. Bell (died 1966) in undated manuscript notes in copies of Finberg’s 1909 Inventory.2 The top drawing may show Middleton Dale, west of the Peak District of Stoney Middleton about four miles north of Bakewell; if so, modern tree cover prevents the identification of a viewpoint. The third view is perhaps of a bridge on the River Derwent, a mile or two to the east, with Middleton marked as a reference point.

As Warrell has noted, the view at the bottom shows Peveril Castle (six or seven miles north-west of Middleton Dale) from the south-east3 across Cave Dale, with parallel diagonal strokes above the distant hills perhaps indicating rain. There is a similar view on folio 32 verso opposite (D22210). For other views of the castle, Castleton and Peak Cavern, see under folio 1 verso (D22152).