This pencil sketch of the bridge at Warkworth from the banks of the river Coquet with the church of St Lawrence beyond was almost certainly made in 1796 on Girtin’s first independent sketching tour. Only one of the twenty or so pencil drawings and on-the-spot colour sketches that survive from the trip is dated, but it is still broadly possible to trace Girtin’s progress through Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders in 1796 from the titles of the works that he sent to the 1797 Royal Academy exhibition, and from the dated watercolours that were subsequently produced from these and other untraced sketches. More significantly, an engraving made ‘from an Original Drawing by Girtin’ showing a view of the fourteenth-century bridge at Warkworth from a different angle that includes the castle keep is dated ‘May 1st 1797’ (TG1099), and this suggests that the 1796 tour was also the occasion for the creation of this sketch. With a commission in hand, Girtin was perhaps encouraged to study two different views of the bridge and not surprisingly the publisher John Walker (active 1776–1802) chose the version with the castle in the background for engraving. The engraved drawing, now lost, also had the added attraction of featuring a view of the defensive gateway tower built at the southern end of the bridge, making it the only surviving fortified bridge in the country. Altogether, there are four surviving sketches of Warkworth subjects and Girtin realised watercolours of six different compositions, focusing equally on the castle (TG1711), the church (TG1710 and TG1776) and the hermitage (TG1096 and TG1097) and his stay in the town was therefore one of the most productive of his tour.

The drawing has not hitherto been published; indeed it has long been misattributed to Girtin’s friend Henry Edridge (1768–1821). Edridge was best known as a portrait draughtsman and miniaturist; indeed, he was responsible for two images of Girtin himself (TG1923 and TG1928). Later in his career Edridge turned increasingly to landscape and given that his draughtsmanship was heavily indebted to the younger artist’s example a number of drawings by Girtin have understandably been wrongly attributed to him (TG1432 and TG1606). It was more likely a confusion over the provenance, however, that led to the misattribution of this drawing and two others also in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (TG1119 and TG1521). They were included in an album of Edridge’s pencil sketches that appear to have been acquired from the sale in 1845 (Christie’s, 24 April 1845) of the artist’s heir Henry Rice (1788–1844). Three of Girtin’s drawings, probably lot 454, were erroneously mixed in with more than 180 sketches by Edridge, providing a neat illustration of the likely fate of other Girtin sketches that cannot now be traced, possibly including the other view of the bridge at Warkworth.

1796 - 1797

The Bridge at Warkworth, with the Castle Beyond

TG1099

1800 - 1801

Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet

TG1711

1800

Warkworth Church

TG1710

1799 - 1800

An Unidentified River Scene with a Bridge and Church

TG1776

1798

Warkworth Hermitage

TG1096

1798 - 1799

Warkworth Hermitage

TG1097

(?) 1801

Thomas Girtin Sketching

TG1923

(?) 1796

Portrait Miniature of Thomas Girtin

TG1928

1799 - 1800

Farm Buildings, Probably in Surrey

TG1432

(?) 1800

Kirkby Malham

TG1606

(?) 1796

York Minster, from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right

TG1119

(?) 1800 - 1801

Middleham Village, with the Castle Beyond

TG1521