Watercolour. 28 by 19 in.
Since this was painted, all south London, with its immediate
neighbourhood, has been so thickly covered with buildings that the
artist’s exact point of view cannot be made out. The substantial house
in the foreground was probably the suburban home of some well-to-do
merchant. The nearest church, evidently on the Surrey side of the
river (the tower of which appears a short distance to the right of St.
Paul’s), must be Christchurch, near the west side of the Blackfriars
Road. Christchurch parish was created by Act of Parliament in 1671,
and covers the same ground as the still existing Manor of Paris
Garden. Inscription as follows: WILLM CAPON PINXT. 1804. WESTMINSTER.
By W. CAPON (1757-1827).
_Lent by Sir E. Coates._