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

Turner observes three distinct views on this page, observed at points around Sandgate and Folkestone, as suggested by Finberg.1 Starting from the bottom, and concentrated towards the left corner, he produces a view of Folkestone from the west; the tower of the parish church of St Mary St Eanswythe visible just over the crest of the hill. Beyond that the harbour is obscured, but the cliffs which extend towards Dover recede into the distance. On the far left a cross might indicate Folkestone mill, also known as Foord Road Mill.

Above this are two sketches which look in the opposite direction, towards the west from the Leas in Folkestone. The study at top right describes the broad, squat form of the Martello tower above and to the north east of Sandgate Castle. For a full list of the pages in the present sketchbook which describe the Kentish Martello towers, see the entry for folio 5 verso (D17215).

The topmost drawing sits in the centre and is a sketch of Sandgate, taking in the coast beyond as it carries on towards Dungeness. These two smaller drawings of the view to the west of Folkestone are encompassed in studies of the same prospect on folios 37 verso, 40 verso, 41 recto, and 44 recto (D17270, D17276–D17277, D17280). He returns to it again in the Holland sketchbook of 1825 (Tate D18883; Turner Bequest CCXIV 22a).