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Journey 2: William Gilpin
In Observations on the River Wye (1770), William Gilpin drew, painted and discussed one of the most beautiful rivers in Great Britain. He did so in order to formulate his theories on landscape, the picturesque and the nature of God.
A Biography of William Gilpin
In seeking out nature and views, Gilpin was actually the first to popularise a pastime we assume is timeless. A country clergyman, he became the genius of British sightseeing, and his journey an important milestone in British tourism. In a sense, William Gilpin’s trip down the River Wye – largely conducted on a boat in pouring rain – was about helping us to see this country in a new light. -
Plynlimon
The River Wye begins as a mere trickle over 2000 ft up Plynlimon mountain in mid-Wales.
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Merbach Hill
As it crosses into England, the Wye first widens, then deepens and slows to large meanders. It becomes a classically-beautiful river, one that Gilpin sketched repeatedly. “The beauty of these scenes arises chiefly from two circumstances: the lofty banks of the river and its mazy course,” he wrote.
He had firm rules for composing a picture of the Wye, and thus nature itself. The viewpoint must be perfect, capturing both the ideal backdrop and also creating side ‘screens’. -
Moccas Court
Moccas Court is a Georgian mansion, built around the time of Gilpin’s journey. Its gardens were designed by Capability Brown, a contemporary.
Did the two hold similar views? After all, Brown revolutionised landscape gardening, rejecting formality and artificial lines in favour of nature and open countryside.
But while Gilpin admired him for pursuing the path nature had marked out, he felt his landscapes lacked the balance and ‘screens’ his own rules required. -
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye was the boarding point for the river tours Gilpin popularised. His writings inspired what amounted to a ‘package tour’ that, by 1800, was a must for people of taste and fashion.
From here, Gilpin’s group traveled four miles downstream to Goodrich Castle. For once, Gilpin thought he’d found a scene perfect in nature. Due to rain, his party didn’t disembark, so Gilpin sketched the castle from midstream. -
Wye Valley Gorge
The 18-mile long Wye Valley Gorge is Britain’s most spectacular.
Climbing Symonds Yat was a must-do on the tours of Gilpin’s day, but he missed out. He was unlucky enough to visit in one of the wettest years on record, when heavy and prolonged downpours flooded the valleys and ruined crops. It’s a timely reminder, given the floods of 2007 in neighbouring areas. -
New Weir
The Wye was a birthplace of industry. In his day, the river would have run brown with coal and red with iron, yet Gilpin makes no mention of the paper mills or copper and tin plants that lined sections of the riverbank.
Either he deliberately ignored them, or he missed them. The latter is unlikely, so perhaps the case was that the noisy busy world of industry was too much the opposite of the picturesque he sought to promote. -
Brockweir
Brockweir was once famous for shipbuilding. In one year alone – 1824 – 13 ships were launched from here. It was also famous for its drunken and debauched townsfolk: in Gilpin’s day, 350 people lived here, with seven pubs and no church.
Today it’s a peaceful hamlet, with the dockside almost covered in weeds. The change began in 1833 with the arrival of the Moravian Church, an east European religious group, who brought a new atmosphere. -
Tintern
Tintern Abbey is another example of Gilpin using artistic licence to improve the picturesque. Although it was Wordsworth’s 1798 poem that made Tintern truly famous, it was a highlight of tours even in Gilpin’s day.
But initially he was unimpressed, and his pictures again show signs of embellishment. It was only as he got nearer that he praised the softening effect time had had on the abbey’s ruins. -
Piercefield
Little remains of the mysterious hanging gardens of Piercefield. A 300-acre estate, it had been inherited in 1745 by Valentine Morris, who’d set about creating ‘natural’ gardens in the spirit of Capability Brown, complete with cave, hermit and guns.
Gilpin believed nature was part of God’s design, too huge for man to comprehend fully. And that’s why he needed his rules. To us though, perfect pictures can become two-dimensional, and perhaps tell us more about the preoccupations of the artist than real life.
Credits
- Presenter
- Nicholas Crane
