The precise date of this sketch of Ripon Minster, seen from the south east, has proved elusive. Girtin may have visited the city in 1796 on his trip to the north east and the Scottish Borders, and two views of the minster, also from the south east though from further away and with the river Skell in the foreground, might have originated in sketches made at that time (TG1053 and TG1054). It is possible that this drawing was also made then, but the only dated watercolours showing the town are from 1800 (TG1659 and TG1660) and 1801 (TG1665). A later date is, on balance, more likely for this sketch, not least because Ripon is on the route that the artist took to Middleham and Hawes during his 1799 Yorkshire visit. Moreover, although the measurements do not tally precisely, there is some evidence to link the drawing with a significant group of sketches produced on that trip, all of which may have been extracted from a sketchbook. Two of the drawings on a smooth wove paper have matching holes, which suggests that they had been bound into a book (TG1508a and TG1525). The latter sketch (Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea) is missing a small section, which, as a later copy indicates (TG1601), must have strayed onto the opposite page. It seems that on just this one occasion Girtin did execute his sketches in a book, though, as the paper historian Peter Bower has argued, it is unlikely that this was made commercially. It may be that the artist himself assembled sheets of paper into a convenient gathering and that, as in the case of the Whitworth Book of Drawings (TG1323, TG1324 and TG1600–TG1625), this contained a number of different types of paper, including the low-grade cartridge used here (Bower, 2002, p.141). This sketch does not seem to have been used as the basis for a finished watercolour, but others were, and Girtin may have employed the book to show his compositions to potential clients. Prime amongst these was Edward Lascelles (1764–1814), who in all probability hosted Girtin at Harewood House during his 1799 trip and who is said to have had a room put aside for him to work in (Roget, 1891, vol.1, p.96). 

Another sketch of Ripon was once in the Whitworth Book of Drawings, from which it was removed for sale. Page thirty-nine is inscribed ‘sketch Rippon Minster cold on the Spot Sold to ........ 8.8.0’ and page forty is missing. Most of the drawings left in the book probably date from 1800, but some are from earlier or were copied from older drawings, and so the presence of a Ripon subject does not necessarily preclude a 1799 date for the artist’s trip to the town.

1796 - 1797

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1053

1797 - 1798

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1054

1800

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge

TG1659

1800

Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge

TG1660

1800 - 1810

A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell

TG1665

1799 - 1800

Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck

TG1508a

1799 - 1800

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea

TG1525

(?) 1801

Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea

TG1601

1800 - 1801

Mountain Scenery, Said to Be near Beddgelert

TG1323

1800 - 1801

The Valley of the Glaslyn, near Beddgelert

TG1324

1798 - 1799

John Raphael Smith: ‘Waiting for the Mail Coach’

TG1600

(?) 1800

The Ruins of Old Mulgrave Castle

TG1625