Lot Essay
This appears to be a transcript, in the form of a continuous narration, of the letters from Thomas Sandby to his wife Elizabeth referred to in the inscription on the first page which reads 'Journal.-in Aug:t 1774. of a Tour/Through part of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, performed by Mess.rs Thomas Sandby, Capt: Rob.t. Elves, William Tyler/Theo: Forrest and Samuel Cotes.;/This was written by Mr. Sandby in letters/to his wife.' The writing is similar to that on the drawings and is presumably that of the artist. As shown by the label on the cover, 'Book No. 12.', this is one of a series of albums, but no others have been traced. The text is addressed to Sandby's wife, as at the opening, but all endearments have been suppressed, as at the very end when his looking forward to 'the happy time that will lead me home to -' is followed by '&c'.
As the inscription on the first page sets out, this is a journal of a trip made in August 1774 in the company of Captain Robert Elves, William Tyler, Thomas Forrest and Samuel Cotes through parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, but also covers the journey from London with halts at Nottingham and Leicester, and an excursion to the Lincolnshire/Huntingdonshire border to see Burghley House. Along the way they encountered Francis ('Frank') Hayman and the architect Carr of York.
The trip was mainly to see country houses and the journal contains a number of accounts, both descriptive and critical of such places as Wollaston Hall, Welbeck, Worksop Manor, Wentworth Castle and Wentworth House, Chatsworth and Kedleston Hall. Sandby's descriptions show an interest in the materials used and a surprising appreciation of Gothic and Jacobean architecture, as at Burghley and Derby where 'the handsome Gothic steeple' of All Saints made 'us regret that the body of the Church [rebuilt by James Gibbs] was not in the same taste'. On the other hand he severely criticised Lord Strafford's folly 'representing, or rather aiming to represent, an old Castle' at Banktop while praising his house at Wentworth. At Harewood House he criticises the unassimilated borrowing of round headed windows from the Baths of Diocletian.
The party also showed a particular interest in vaults and caves, both artificial and natural. There is a long description of their exploration of the Devil's Hole in the Park, complete with an account of the hazards of crossing an underground river, one by one lying down in a small boat and of being carried over another 'on Mens shoulders ... let him who visits this Extraordinary Scene take care that he is not too heavy for his porter'; Sandby nearly received a ducking. The party was also interested in such new, or not so new, products of the dawning industrial age, coal pits, a silk mill and a water engine for raising water in a lead mine near Matlock. There is also an account of how business at the Clothiers Hall in Leeds was conducted in whispers.
It has been suggested that at least some of the drawings are by Sandby's companion on this tour, Thomas Theodosius Forrest. Forrest had studied with George Lambert but was a solicitor by profession. As an amateur he exhibited eight works with the Society of Artists 1762-68 and seven at the Royal Academy 1769-81, mainly views in or around London and Colchester or in Kent but including one historical subject. However, the drawing of Wentworth House in this book was engraved by W.Watts in 1779 as after Thomas Sandby while, rather confusingly, two of the drawings, of the East and West Views of Nottingham Castle, were engraved by Watts in 1777 as after 'P. Sandby' Thomas's brother Paul (1729-1809), exact as to every detail save for the addition of extra staffage in the foreground and middle distance. In the case of the East View there is also a watercolour, attributed to Paul Sandby, 4 7/8 x 7 5/8 in., with the extra figures, in the Nottingham Castle Museum.
Accompanying the text are illustrations of some of the features that seem to have particularly interested Thomas Sandby: two views of Nottingham Castle; one of Worksop Manor; the North and South fronts of Harewood House; a plan of the Clothiers Hall in Leeds to show the allocation of space to the subscribers; Wentworth Castle together with a ground plan to show where Lord Strafford had added a new wing; Wentworth House (repr. Mallalieu, op. cit., p. 245); the entrance to the Devil's Hole (repr. Mallalieu, op. cit., p. 244) and a view looking out together with a detailed, annotated plan; the garden front at Kedleston; and Uppingham market place
As the inscription on the first page sets out, this is a journal of a trip made in August 1774 in the company of Captain Robert Elves, William Tyler, Thomas Forrest and Samuel Cotes through parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, but also covers the journey from London with halts at Nottingham and Leicester, and an excursion to the Lincolnshire/Huntingdonshire border to see Burghley House. Along the way they encountered Francis ('Frank') Hayman and the architect Carr of York.
The trip was mainly to see country houses and the journal contains a number of accounts, both descriptive and critical of such places as Wollaston Hall, Welbeck, Worksop Manor, Wentworth Castle and Wentworth House, Chatsworth and Kedleston Hall. Sandby's descriptions show an interest in the materials used and a surprising appreciation of Gothic and Jacobean architecture, as at Burghley and Derby where 'the handsome Gothic steeple' of All Saints made 'us regret that the body of the Church [rebuilt by James Gibbs] was not in the same taste'. On the other hand he severely criticised Lord Strafford's folly 'representing, or rather aiming to represent, an old Castle' at Banktop while praising his house at Wentworth. At Harewood House he criticises the unassimilated borrowing of round headed windows from the Baths of Diocletian.
The party also showed a particular interest in vaults and caves, both artificial and natural. There is a long description of their exploration of the Devil's Hole in the Park, complete with an account of the hazards of crossing an underground river, one by one lying down in a small boat and of being carried over another 'on Mens shoulders ... let him who visits this Extraordinary Scene take care that he is not too heavy for his porter'; Sandby nearly received a ducking. The party was also interested in such new, or not so new, products of the dawning industrial age, coal pits, a silk mill and a water engine for raising water in a lead mine near Matlock. There is also an account of how business at the Clothiers Hall in Leeds was conducted in whispers.
It has been suggested that at least some of the drawings are by Sandby's companion on this tour, Thomas Theodosius Forrest. Forrest had studied with George Lambert but was a solicitor by profession. As an amateur he exhibited eight works with the Society of Artists 1762-68 and seven at the Royal Academy 1769-81, mainly views in or around London and Colchester or in Kent but including one historical subject. However, the drawing of Wentworth House in this book was engraved by W.Watts in 1779 as after Thomas Sandby while, rather confusingly, two of the drawings, of the East and West Views of Nottingham Castle, were engraved by Watts in 1777 as after 'P. Sandby' Thomas's brother Paul (1729-1809), exact as to every detail save for the addition of extra staffage in the foreground and middle distance. In the case of the East View there is also a watercolour, attributed to Paul Sandby, 4 7/8 x 7 5/8 in., with the extra figures, in the Nottingham Castle Museum.
Accompanying the text are illustrations of some of the features that seem to have particularly interested Thomas Sandby: two views of Nottingham Castle; one of Worksop Manor; the North and South fronts of Harewood House; a plan of the Clothiers Hall in Leeds to show the allocation of space to the subscribers; Wentworth Castle together with a ground plan to show where Lord Strafford had added a new wing; Wentworth House (repr. Mallalieu, op. cit., p. 245); the entrance to the Devil's Hole (repr. Mallalieu, op. cit., p. 244) and a view looking out together with a detailed, annotated plan; the garden front at Kedleston; and Uppingham market place