- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
- Date
- 1795 - 1796
- Medium and Support
- Graphite on wove paper (watermark: J WHATMAN)
- Dimensions
- 21 × 27 cm, 8 ¼ × 10 ⅝ in
- Inscription
‘T. Girtin / Tunbridge Bridge, & Castle - Kent- / T.Girtin delt’ on the back, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Outline Drawing
- Subject Terms
- Castle Ruins; Dover and Kent; River Scenery
-
- Collection
- Versions
-
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
(TG0845)
- Catalogue Number
- TG0192
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 78 as 'c. 1794'
- Description Source(s)
- Viewed in 2001
Provenance
Charles Sackville Bale (1791–1880); his posthumous sale, Christie’s, 16 May 1881, lot 392 (9 pencils in lot); bought by 'Palser', £1 1s; J. Palser & Sons; Edward Cohen (1817–86); then by bequest to his niece, Isabella Oswald (1838–1905); her posthumous sale, Robins & Hine, 30 March 1905, lot unknown; bought by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960), £1; given to Tom Girtin (1913–94), c.1938; bought by John Baskett on behalf of Paul Mellon (1907–99), 1970; presented to the Center, 1975
Exhibition History
Cotswold Gallery, 1924a, no.221, £2 2s as 'From the Thomas Girtin collection'; New Haven, 1986a, no.23 as ’after Edward Dayes’
Bibliography
Vallance, 1932, pp.34–37; Cormack, 1975, pp.27-28; Whittingham, 2007, p.135
Place depicted
Other entries in Monro School Copies:
British Views, Including Works after the Outlines of John Henderson

An Upland Landscape with a Rainbow, Said to Be Lowther Fells
Kendal Town Hall

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Dover Castle, Seen from the Beach
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

An Upland Scene with a Wooded Valley
Leeds University Art Gallery

Unidentified Medieval Ruins, with Agricultural Buildings
Tate, London

A View near Keswick, Probably Bassenthwaite Lake
Private Collection

Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake, from the Vale of Newlands
Private Collection

Looking South into Borrowdale, from the Shore of Derwentwater
Private Collection

Mountainous Landscape, Possibly in the Lake District
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool

Boon Crag Cottage, with Coniston Water Beyond
Private Collection

A View in Cumbria, Probably Looking from Irton Fell towards Ravenglass
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A View in Cumbria, Looking towards Irton and the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man in the Distance
Tate, London

The River Leven, Cumbria, Viewed from Penny Bridge
Tate, London

St John's Vale, Cumbria
Private Collection

The Lodore Falls
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Langdale Pikes
Private Collection

An Unidentified Bridge over a Stream, Possibly in North Wales
Private Collection

Derwentwater, with Skiddaw in the Distance
Eton College, Windsor

Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Overshot Mill
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

A Mountainous River Landscape with a Bridge
Private Collection

Cynwyd Mill, near Corwen, North Wales
Brandler Galleries, Brentwood

Conwy: The Town Walls from the South East
Tate, London

Raglan Castle: The Great Hall
Private Collection

A Mountainous Landscape with an Unidentified Bridge, Possibly in North Wales
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale
Private Collection

An Estuary, Possibly Dartmouth
Private Collection

Grasmere: Looking North West to Helm Crag
Private Collection

The Head of Lake Windermere
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence

The Head of Derwentwater, with the Lodore Falls
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Shipping Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Two-Master in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: A Ship Being Overhauled
Tate, London

A Boat on the Shore, near Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Fishing Vessels, Their Sails Drying
Tate, London

Shipping in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
Tate, London

A Lake View, Possibly Ullswater
Private Collection

A General View of Dover Harbour, from the East
Tate, London

Dover Harbour: Small Boats by the Quay
Tate, London

Boats in Dover Harbour
British Museum, London

A Ship under Repair in Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Figures on a Fishing Vessel in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fishing Vessel with Hastings Beyond
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

Dover Castle from the Sea
Private Collection

A Beached Vessel in the Inner Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Castle on the Hill
British Museum, London

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels Anchored in Dover Harbour, with the Castle Beyond
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Warehouses with Shipping in Dover Harbour
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Vessels in the Harbour at Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with the Cliffs Beyond
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart

Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

The Inner Harbour, Dover, with the Castle Beyond
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

A Ship Drawn Up on a Beach Being Careened
Private Collection

Beached Fishing Vessels, Dover Harbour
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Fishing Vessels in the Harbour at Dover
Private Collection

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Boats Anchored in Dover Harbour
Private Collection

Dover Harbour, with Fishing Boats at Low Tide
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta

Dover: The Harbour with Vessels
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Smack in Dover Harbour, Drying Sails, with the Old Church in the Distance
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Dover Harbour: A Boat under Repair
Private Collection

Fishing Boats at Low Tide, near Dover
Courtauld Gallery, London

Dover: Two Boatmen Standing by the Prow of a Brig
Private Collection

Dover Harbour
Private Collection

A Fisherman's Cottage, Said to Be at Dover
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

The Hull of a Ship under Repair, with a Barge and Smaller Boats
Tate, London

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway
Private Collection

A Boat-Builder's Shed, Possibly on the River Medway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway, with a Fishing Boat with Drying Sails
Tate, London

The Coast, near Dover
The Higgins, Bedford

Folkestone Harbour
Julian Huxley-Parlour Fine Art, London

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Beachy Head, Looking towards Newhaven
Ulster Museum, Belfast

Shakespeare Cliff, Dover
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Beached Vessels in Dover Harbour, the Castle in the Distance
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Private Collection

A Coast View with Chalk Cliffs, Probably from near Beachy Head
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

A Small Boat under Repair by a Jetty
Private Collection

Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
Private Collection

Dartford High Street
Private Collection

Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Rye, from the River Tillingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Dover: Fishing Boats at Low Tide
Private Collection

Two Boatmen Caulking the Bows of a Beached Brig, Probably at Dover
Private Collection

Hastings: A Beached Fishing Boat
Private Collection

A Coastal Scene at Dover
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

Mickleham Church
Tate, London

Dolbadarn Castle on Llyn Padarn
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Conwy Castle, from the East
Huddersfield Art Gallery

Harlech Castle, from the South
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

The Gatehouse, Harlech Castle, Seen from the Moat
Private Collection, Gloucestershire

The High Street at Egham
Private Collection

Boats in Dover Harbour
Leeds Art Gallery

Two Trees Overlooking a Meandering River
Private Collection

A Dilapidated Cottage
Private Collection

Dover: Boats Anchored in the Harbour
Private Collection

A Coastal View near Dover, probably at St Margaret's, Cliffe
Private Collection

Dover: Beached Boats, with the Castle Beyond
Private Collection

Dover Harbour: The Stern of a Large Ship, and Smaller Vessels
Tate, London

The Town of Rye, Seen from the Marshes
British Museum, London
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About this Work
Tonbridge is on the road between Hastings and London, and, with its picturesquely sited castle on the banks of the river Medway, it attracted the attention of many artists, amateur and professional, as they made their way to or from the south coast (for example, see figure 1). Girtin’s drawing, which is signed on the back, includes all of the key elements that made up the popular subject, including the castle itself, which is marked by the twin round towers of the entrance gate as well as a clump of trees to the left that grew on the fortress’ original motte, or mound. In the middle ground is the recently built bridge over the Medway, which opened in 1776, and, this being the furthest point on the river to which vessels might safely navigate, there is evidence of the town’s role as a trans-shipment point. Finally, the picturesque mix of ancient and modern is completed by the building to the left, surrounded by trees, which is the Tunbridge Ware Manufactory (Whittingham, 2007, p.135).
Stylistically, the work is consistent with the pencil drawings that Girtin made at the house of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) around 1795–96, including a view of Ariccia after John Robert Cozens (1752–97) (TG0622) and A Village in a Wood (TG0236), which appears to be related to a pencil drawing by Thomas Hearne (1744–1817). It may be, therefore, that this drawing of Tonbridge was copied from a sketch in Monro’s collection by a professional artist; certainly, there is no evidence that Girtin himself ever visited this part of Kent. Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak suggested that the drawing was ‘copied from a pencil drawing of the same size by Dayes in the Fitzwilliam Museum’; however, this appears to have been a mistake as no sketch by the artist is recorded in the Cambridge collection, though, along with Paul Sandby (c.1730–1809), Girtin’s master does indeed seem to be the most likely candidate as the source (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.144). As for the function of the drawing, we need to look at the comparable sketch of the well-known rocky outcrop near Tunbridge Wells, The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells (TG0200), which has the same measurements, albeit in a landscape format, and is likewise inscribed on the back with the subject and signed ‘T. Girtin delt’. This form of the artist’s signature is found in only one other instance across his whole career, and its presence on two drawings of geographically related subjects suggests that they came from the same source and that they were produced as a pair. The use of the formal ‘delt’, short for the Latin ‘delinit’, also indicates that neither drawing was made for Girtin’s own use, and, instead, it appears that the sketches were produced for sale to a collector who wanted examples of Girtin’s skills as a draughtsman. Like The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells, this appears to be a presentation drawing – that is, a demonstration piece produced as an example of the artist’s drawing skills.
The relationship between Girtin’s signed outline drawing of Tonbridge and an almost exact watercolour replica of the composition (TG0845), which has been attributed to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) and dated to around 1794, has been the cause of considerable debate over the years (Cormack, 1975, pp.27–28). My own tentative conclusion is that the watercolour is another example of a collaboration between Girtin and Turner at Monro’s home based on a sketch by another artist, and that it follows from this that the pencil drawing is part of a small group of Monro School subjects that the artist produced from the same source but for his own use, including Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West (TG0842). Indeed, although we do not know anything about the drawing’s early provenance, is not impossible that it, the watercolour and the other pencil drawing (The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells) all came from Monro’s collection.
1795 - 1800
Ariccia: The Church of Santa Maria Assunta and the Chigi Palace
TG0622
1794 - 1795
A Village in a Wood
TG0236
1795 - 1796
The High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells
TG0200
1795 - 1796
Tonbridge Bridge and Castle
TG0845
1795 - 1796
Dover: Snargate Street, Looking West
TG0842