Observations on the Coasts of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent
Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, Made in the Summer of the Year 1774

This 1804 work explores the concept of the picturesque during a journey taking in Portsmouth, Brighton, Dover and Canterbury.

William Gilpin (Author)

9781108067126, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 January 2014

160 pages, 6 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 0.9 cm, 0.21 kg

Clergyman, schoolmaster and writer on aesthetics, William Gilpin (1724–1804) is best known for his works on the picturesque. In his Essay on Prints, published in 1768 and reissued in this series, he defined picturesque as 'a term expressive of that peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture'. First published in 1804, the present work is one of a series which records his reflections on the picturesque across British landscapes. It traces the journey he made in 1774, equipped with notebook and sketching materials, along England's south coast from Portsmouth to Dover and Canterbury via Brighton, Rye and Romney Marsh. He describes his impressions of famous landmarks such as the South Downs, Petworth House, Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral, and includes several reproductions of his pen-and-wash drawings. The companion volumes of Observations on other parts of Britain are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

1. Water essential in landscape
2. Retrospect of Guildford
3. Portsmouth
4. Island of Haling
5. Arundel castle
6. Road to Petworth
7. Approach to Lewes
8. Winchelsea
9. Road between Romney and Hythe
10. Road from Folkstone to Dover
11. First view of Dover castle
12. Caesar's invasion
13. Kingsgate
14. Canterbury
15. Rochester
16. View of the Thames from Gadshill
17. Chislehurst
18. Another road from Canterbury.

Subject Areas: Art forms [AF]