About this sheet
The ruins of Prudhoe Castle in Northumberland, seen across still water from a wooded bank. The great square keep rises above a long stretch of curtain wall, with smoke drifting from a chimney among the inner buildings, a crenellated tower to the right and, below it, an ivy hung gateway half hidden among trees. Sheep graze on the slope beneath the walls, birds wheel in a cloudy sky, and in the foreground two men stand at the water's edge with a long handled net.
The plate is lettered "Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland" with "Pl. 2", and the credit line reads "Engraved by J. Greig, from a Painting by L. Clennell, for the Border Antiquities of England and Scotland." The imprint at the foot reads "London, Published May 1, 1815, for the Proprietors, by Longman & Co. Paternoster Row."
The Border Antiquities of England and Scotland was issued in parts and published in two volumes between 1814 and 1817, with an introduction by Walter Scott, as a record of the castles, abbeys and towers of the border country. Its plates were engraved largely by James Greig after drawings and paintings by Luke Clennell, the Northumbrian artist and former pupil of Thomas Bewick, and by other artists of the day.
Prudhoe Castle stands on a ridge above the River Tyne, a few miles west of Newcastle. Built by the Umfraville family in the twelfth century, it withstood two sieges by the Scots in the 1170s and later passed to the Percys, Earls of Northumberland. By the time this plate was published it was a picturesque ruin, exactly the kind of subject that Scott's readers sought out.
The engraving is crisp and rich, a fine example of English topographical engraving of the Regency, with the foliage, stonework and reflections carefully rendered and a deep tonal range from the dark foreground to the luminous sky. It would suit collectors of Northumberland and Border history, of Walter Scott or of Romantic castle views.
Condition: Good condition for its age. Light toning with scattered foxing and faint mottling to the margins, a few darker spots at upper left. Please review the images for further condition details.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
