Henry King Taylor(British, fl.1857-1869)'Mount Orgueil Castle, Jersey' 50.8 x 81.3cm. (20 x 32in.)
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Find your local specialistHenry King Taylor (British, fl.1857-1869)
signed and inscribed on label on reverse
oil on canvas
50.8 x 81.3cm. (20 x 32in.)
Footnotes
Looming over the tiny fishing hamlet of Gorey on Jersey’s eastern shore, Mount Orgueil Castle commands the entire coast, across both Grouville Bay to the south and St. Catherine’s to the north. Even in the mid-nineteenth century, after three centuries of neglect since its capture at the end of the English Civil War, it was still a magnificent structure which, in a sense, continued to dominate much of the island. Essentially a late Norman structure, although containing some evidence of Roman origins, the fortress was much altered by the Tudor monarchs as they adapted it for the age of gunpowder and it has enjoyed a colourful history which includes several notable sieges. The last of these was in the autumn of 1651, when government troops under Colonel Heane supported by ships of the fleet commanded by Admiral Robert Blake, laid siege to Mount Orgueil in their campaign to restore Parliamentary authority on Jersey, the last royalist stronghold in the British Isles. When the castle eventually surrendered and the island was completely subdued, the royalist cause was forced to abandon its claim on the English throne for the rest of the decade and, indeed, until after the death of Oliver Cromwell.
Mount Orgueil and its castle have provided countless artists with their inspiration although this distinctive view from the sea is far more unusual than the more familiar perspective from the southwest, looking across Gorey Harbour.
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