Neath Castle, Glamorganshire

Neath Castle, Glamorganshire
Neath Castle, Glamorganshire
Neath Castle, Glamorganshire
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Thomas Hastings after Wilson
Title
Neath Castle, Glamorganshire
Date
Published 1821
Medium
Etching on chine collé
Dimensions
Metric: 177 x 230 mm
Imperial: 7 x 9 1/16 in.
Accession Number
1854,0708.67
Wilson Online Reference
E72/10
Description
View of the ruins of Neath Castle on a hilltop, with two figures standing on the hillside at the left; a stretch of water fills the foreground and the arch of a drain can be seen at the centre
Provenance
Bought from George Willis, Piazza, Covent Garden, 1854
Signature/inscription
Lettered below the image with the title and above, 'The Original is in the Possession of Lady Ford.'; production details and publication line: 'Painted by R. Wilson.' 'Etched by T. Hastings. | published in London 1821'
Subject
Neath Castle was one of the minor Norman castles in the lordship of Glamorgan. Like the Romans before them, the Normans chose this strategic spot, guarding the river crossing, for a stronghold. The main surviving feature of the castle is the great twin-towered gatehouse on its west side. This belongs to the latest phase in its 250 year history. The first castle was a ringwork known to have been built in the 12th century by Robert, Earl of Gloucester. It was much harried by the Welsh and was rebuilt sometime in the early 13th century. The castle was again severely damaged by enemies of the unpopular lord of Glamorgan, Hugh Despenser. It was the 14th-century rebuilding after this attack that gave it its magnificent gatehouse. Only the fronts of the great D-shaped towers and the arch between them now survive. The district of Neath was a popular stop for the aspiring eighteenth-century traveller in South Wales since the two main routes from England - the coastal road from Chepstow to Newport and the Heads of the Valley Road from Ross to Abergavenny - converged there. However, evidence of advancing industrialisation can be seen in the smoke of the left background.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P151 Neath Castle, Glamorganshire, Private Collection, England
Critical commentary
From a series of forty etchings after paintings by Richard Wilson and additional title page, bound in a volume in red tooled leather with gold decorative border, lettered on the spine with 'Wilson's | Etchings | by | Hastings'; the title page lettered in black and red: 'Etchings, | from the Works | of | [ facsimile of signature below portrait] Ric. Wilson | with Some Memoirs of his Life, &c. | by Thomas Hastings, Esq. | Collector of His Majesty's Customs. | "Non Ductus Officio Sed Amore Operis." Quintillian. | Published by Hurst, Robinson & Co. Cheapside, London. | Johnson, Typ. Apollo Press, 1825. Brook Street, Holborn'; containing twenty pages of Introductory and Concluding Remarks by the etcher, including descriptions of Richard Wilson's original paintings.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
PPA324292
Bibliography
Hastings 1825, repr.; WGC, p. 182, under pl. 47b; Yule 2015, pp. 60 & 69
More Information
George Willis was an antiquarian book dealer, who occasionally published books and prints. His firm was active from 1832-1856 and sold many prints to the British Museum. In 1856 it merged with Thomas Sotheran to become Willis & Sotheran.
Updated by Compiler
2017-12-11 00:00:00