Lot 185: Follower of Samuel Scott , 1702-1772 A View of Old Westminster Bridge oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements note 82 by 126 cm., 32 1/4 by 49 1/2 in.

THE PROPERTY OF THE EARL GRANVILLE
The view depicted is that of the north bank of the River Thames at Old Westminster Bridge with, from left to right, Manchester Court, Dorset Court and the side of Derby Court. These courts ran for some distance inland with the properties nearest the river bank generating the largest rents. In 1755 Strype's Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster described them as 'large and well-built, fit for Gentry to dwell in'. Built between 1738 and 1750 by the engineer Charles Labelye, Westminster Bridge, dubbed the Bridge of Fools by R.J.B. Walker [i], connected the original Palace of Westminster with the South Bank. The lamps shown here on top of the arches were not erected until 1750, a detail which helps to date the composition. [i] See The English Historical Review, vol. 97, no. 383 (Apr., 1982), pp. 430-431