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

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, this is one of a series of drawings of Dunbar continuing to folio 70 verso (D02720). The castle, built shortly after the Norman Conquest, was one of the most substantial fortifications in Scotland, resisting many attacks over the centuries. It was a refuge for Mary, Queen of Scots on two occasions, the second of which led to its demolition on the orders of the Scottish Parliament in 1568. Dunbar is the site of a famous battle between Cromwellian forces and loyalist Scottish Presbyterians, who were defeated here in 1650.