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Stone bridge and figures on a beach
This watercolour depicts a bridge with two arches and sprawling greenery, crossing a beach. A red cliff-face, with a verdant top, dominates the background. Two figures can be seen on the rocks, high above the scene, and possibly another on the far right. Two figures are pictured on the beach as another two appear at work atop the bridge. Piles of rock spill through the arches and at the centre of the bridge.
The bridge may be part of the Teignmouth to Dawlish stretch of the South Devon Railway. The red rockface along this railway collapsed shortly after it was tunnelled for the trainline in 1846. The area was also hit by a hurricane in December 1852, causing another landslide on the railway. ‘The Daily News’ reported a significant obstruction on the line at Parson and Clerk, which took some time to remove.
This drawing is part of an album containing thirty-six drawings (PAG3476–PAG3511) by Harry Edmund Edgell (1809–1876), dated between 1851 and 1852. During this time, Edgell was living in Torquay, Devon, with his wife Caroline, with whom he had a daughter in June 1852. Edgell entered the Royal Naval College in 1821 and was involved in forcing the passage of the Bocca Tigris in China while serving as Lieutenant on HMS ‘Imogene’ in the 1830s. He became Captain in 1846 and commanded HMS ‘Siren’, in which he assisted in the removal of the sculptured remains of the Tomb of Mausolus (Canning Marbles) from Bodrum Castle, Asia Minor (now Türkiye), to the British Museum. After returning from the Mediterranean in 1847, Edgell did not serve on board a ship again until 1855. This sketchbook primarily contains landscapes and coastal scenes depicting everyday life in and around Devon. Some of the later pages depict places in China and other locations in Asia, suggesting Edgell may have used this album outside of the dates recorded. The final page contains a note in Edgell’s hand, titled ‘India’, recording the details of six ships involved in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, which began in April 1852.
The bridge may be part of the Teignmouth to Dawlish stretch of the South Devon Railway. The red rockface along this railway collapsed shortly after it was tunnelled for the trainline in 1846. The area was also hit by a hurricane in December 1852, causing another landslide on the railway. ‘The Daily News’ reported a significant obstruction on the line at Parson and Clerk, which took some time to remove.
This drawing is part of an album containing thirty-six drawings (PAG3476–PAG3511) by Harry Edmund Edgell (1809–1876), dated between 1851 and 1852. During this time, Edgell was living in Torquay, Devon, with his wife Caroline, with whom he had a daughter in June 1852. Edgell entered the Royal Naval College in 1821 and was involved in forcing the passage of the Bocca Tigris in China while serving as Lieutenant on HMS ‘Imogene’ in the 1830s. He became Captain in 1846 and commanded HMS ‘Siren’, in which he assisted in the removal of the sculptured remains of the Tomb of Mausolus (Canning Marbles) from Bodrum Castle, Asia Minor (now Türkiye), to the British Museum. After returning from the Mediterranean in 1847, Edgell did not serve on board a ship again until 1855. This sketchbook primarily contains landscapes and coastal scenes depicting everyday life in and around Devon. Some of the later pages depict places in China and other locations in Asia, suggesting Edgell may have used this album outside of the dates recorded. The final page contains a note in Edgell’s hand, titled ‘India’, recording the details of six ships involved in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, which began in April 1852.
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