Lot 70: J. B. Shelwall , 19th Century lyme regis from the cliffs pencil and watercolour heightened with white

signed and dated l.r.: JB Shelwall/ 5/67 pencil and watercolour heightened with white

measurements note 13 by 30.5 cm.; 5 ¼ by 12 in.

A young woman and girl are seated to the side of a cliff-pass high above a bay, beyond which is the Dorset town of Lyme Regis. Arching towards the town are the famous limestone cliffs, susceptible to landslips as is shown by the undulations of the cliff edge in the present watercolour. It is this erosion that has revealed some of the best preserved fossils to be found in Britain, and in the 1860s, when this watercolour was painted, the town of Lyme was popular with amateur fossil hunters and naturalists. The square tower of St. Michael the Archangel in Lyme is visible to the left, whilst plumes of smoke rise from chimneys, perhaps of a herring smokery, suggesting the fishing industry of this ancient port town. Only part of the seawall known as the Cobb (made famous by John Fowles, The French Lieutenants Woman) is seen beyond the promontory from which sailing vessels have embarked seaward watched by the women in the foreground.