London – British Museum (Bishopgate Bridge by John Thirtle)

I usually visit the British Museum three or four times a year, something which is a little difficult to do with the current virus situation, primarily because it’s shut. However, they’ve placed hundreds of thousands of images on their web-site, so this will have to do me for the moment. The images can be used non-commercially, as long as the British Museum is credited. So, this is their credit.

This drawing was made by John Thirtle, likely at the very end of the eighteenth century or the early part of the nineteenth century. The museum purchased the drawing from Andrew Wyld in 1977, a dealer in fine art. Like nearly everything I seem to look up, this artwork isn’t on public display and they don’t seem to have used it in any exhibitions or the like. It’s a pen and grey ink drawing with a grey wash, showing Bishopgate Bridge. Thirtle is buried in the Rosary Cemetery, a reminder to myself that I should go and have another investigation there as I haven’t visited in a while.

I think this photo was taken from around the same place as the above drawing was made, I was slightly hampered by three things. One were bushes, one was a big tree and the other was a blasted fence where I wanted to stand to take the photo. I didn’t fancy having any little incidents by climbing over that small fence and falling into the River Wensum, so this is the best that I could safely get.