On a technical note, the paper historian Peter Bower has identified the support used by Girtin as a laid cartridge paper made by an unknown English manufacturer (Smith, 2002b, p.183; Bower, Report). This is the same paper the artist used for The West Front of Jedburgh Abbey (TG1231) and The Great Hall, Conwy Castle (TG1305), which can be dated with a degree of confidence to 1797 and 1798 respectively, and this tends to confirm the time frame suggested for this watercolour too.
This view was once known as ‘The Manor House, Richmond’, and another watercolour with a similar title appeared on the art market in 1968 (Exhibitions: Sotheby’s, 4 April 1968, lot 129), attributed to Girtin (see figure 2). This is only known from a poor-quality black and white photograph, but even from this it is clear that the attribution is highly questionable.
(?) 1796
Richmond, Yorkshire: The Seventeenth-Century House Known as St Nicholas
TG1461
1796 - 1797
Durham Cathedral, from the South West
TG0919
1796 - 1797
Durham Cathedral, from the South West
TG0919
1796 - 1797
The West Front of Jedburgh Abbey
TG1231
(?) 1798
The Great Hall, Conwy Castle
TG1305
About this Work
This fine watercolour is based on a pencil sketch that was almost certainly made on Girtin’s first independent tour (TG1461), to the northern counties and the Scottish Borders in 1796. The work, formerly known as ‘The Manor House, Richmond’ and erroneously titled ‘The Hospital of St Nicholas, Richmond, Yorkshire’ by me in the 2002 bicentenary exhibition, actually shows the seventeenth-century house, known as St Nicholas, that was built on the site of the medieval hospital of the same name (Smith, 2002b, p.183). The building still stands, albeit in a modified form, and has claims to be the oldest structure in the town to be in continuous habitation, though, if the watercolour is a good guide, it may have been in a run-down state when Girtin visited, with some of its windows blocked up. The watercolour, expanding on hints seen in the drawing, makes it look as though the building were tenanted by a farmer and his wife, who tend their livestock, including chickens, pigs and cows. A cart and a butter churn complete an image of a modest Tudor hall masquerading as a picturesque farmhouse.
Nothing is known about the work’s early provenance before it came into the hands of the great benefactor of the British Museum, Chambers Hall (1786–1855). However, the existence of a close copy by the amateur artist and collector John Henderson (1764–1843) might provide a clue (see figure 1). Henderson was the neighbour of Girtin’s important early patron Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833), and he is known to have copied a number of the artist’s works from his collection, including Durham Cathedral, from the South West (see TG0919 figure 1). The original Girtin watercolour (TG0919) was also owned by Hall, who bought it from Monro through the artist John Linnell (1792–1882), who acted as an intermediary in the sale, and it may be that this is what happened in the case of this work too (Linnell, Journal, 1817–23).1