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Painting, oil painting, View of Whitehaven, Cumberland,
by Matthias Read, 1690-1706.
Distant view of Whitehaven and its environs seen from an
elevated perspective. In the foreground a small group of
people has gathered on the hilltop overlooking the town, an
impromptu party resulting. Three of them dance a jig whilst
four couples carouse in the scant shade offered by two
stunted trees. Two men stand looking on. Three cattle wait
nearby, one of which has upset a pail of milk.
Four views of Whitehaven by Read survive. This is the
earliest and plainest example which shows only one pier in
the harbour and a small number of ships. The town is still
very small and details of the buildings are unfinished.
Whitehaven was the earliest planned town in England thanks
to the vision of Sir John Lowther, 1642-1706, the local
landower who built up his wealth in coal. The groups of
locals dancing and drinking in the foreground of the
painting bring life to the scene. The small red and yellow
stripe of paint is a mystery.
The painting originally hung in the Grapes Inn, Carlisle.
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