Colliss Sketchbook - Guy's Cliff Mill

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Date:10th of August 1867

Description:

William Colliss (d.1926)

Guy's Cliff Mill (Water), Said To Be 800 Years Old, Saturday August 10th 1867

This drawing is from a portfolio containing 41 pages of sketches and watercolour paintings. It was bought by Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum at an auction held in Stratford-on-Avon on 28 February 2008.

The drawings were made by Mr William Colliss, an amateur artist, when he was staying in Royal Leamington Spa during a holiday in August 1867. Made at a time before photography was widely accessible, they offer a rare personal record of excursions in mid-Victorian Warwickshire.

A preface to the portfolio by Colliss shows that he and his wife stayed with her cousin at 30 Clarendon Street, Leamington. Colliss explains that the pictures were ‘original drawings done on the spot’ in pencil and then gone over in ink. The drawings include well established sights such as Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Guy’s Cliffe and Stratford-on-Avon. There are also a number showing villages such as Lillington, Milverton, Offchurch, Radford Semele and Whitnash.

Colliss does not say how he got to these places but many are within an hour’s walking distance of Leamington. The exceptions may have been his trips to Stratford-on-Avon and Kenilworth, both recently connected to Leamington by railway and accessible by coach.

The census records from 1861 and 1871 suggest that at the time of his holiday Colliss, although born in Bognor, Sussex, was living in Lambeth and working as a ‘Commercial Clerk to East India Agents’. He died in January 1926 at Freshwater, Isle of Wight.


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1720s
Guy's Cliffe In 1722
Guy's Cliffe In 1722

William Stukeley Guy's Cliffe In 1722, 1722 Ink on paper 190mm x 300mm This drawing ...

1830s
Guys Cliffe Mill From The House
Guys Cliffe Mill From The House

Thomas Baker (1808-1864) Guys Cliffe Mill From The House, 28th August 1837 Pencil ...

1860s
Colliss Sketchbook - The Avenue, Guy's Cliff
Colliss Sketchbook - The Avenue, Guy's Cliff

William Colliss The Avenue - Guy's Cliff - August 8th 1867 This drawing is from ...

1890s
Guy's Cliffe Mill
Guy's Cliffe Mill

Ursula M. Davies (fl. 1881-1888) Guy's Cliffe Mill, 1891 Watercolour on paper 280mm ...

1940s
Guy's Cliffe Mill
Guy's Cliffe Mill

Edith C. Reynolds (fl. 1909-1937) Guy's Cliffe Mill, September 1945 Watercolour ...

1990s
Portrait: Guy's Cliffe II
Portrait: Guy's Cliffe II

Catherine Yass (born 1963) Portrait: Guy's Cliffe II, 1994 Llfrochrome transparency ...

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Donor ref:LEAMG : A1123.2008.12 (64/27841)

Source: Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum

Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.