Ludgate Prison with a Plan of the London Workhouse, Sir Paul Pindar’s House, Lodge, etc.

  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection

    This view of the front of the Ludgate Prison and its adjoining buildings includes a large cart in foreground. Below are a plan of the prison and a small map of the area, showing the London Workhouse and the location of the former home of merchant and diplomat Sir Paul Pindar (1565/6-1650).

    Sir Paul Pindar’s much-admired house in Bishopsgate was eventually demolished in 1890. However, its splendid oak front is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and a reproduction of one of the richly ornamented ceilings of the house is in the former library of Leeds Castle in Kent.

    This print was published as an illustration to volume two of Robert Wilkinson's ‘Londina Illustrata’, a series of 206 plates. The project was originally conceived by antiquary and librarian William Herbert (1772-1851) as a series of facsimiles of rare 17th-century prints and drawings. However, after printseller Robert Wilkinson became invovled it grew to include numerous topographical views, particularly of building of historical interest. The series was published in a number of small editions between 1808 and 1834.

  • About the artist
    British draftsman, watercolorist and illustrator Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie was the son of an artist who also lived and worked in London and may have come from an artistic family, as there were a number of artists and engravers with this surname. Schnebbelie painted watercolour views and made illustrations for ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ and Wilkinson's ‘Londina Illustrata’. His works include several coloured prints of London theatres. However, he died in poverty.
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  • Details
    Title
    Ludgate Prison with a Plan of the London Workhouse, Sir Paul Pindar’s House, Lodge, etc.
    Date
    Medium
    Etching and engraving
    Acquisition
    Presented by Dr. Peter Rusk, November 1973
    Provenance
    Gift from Dr Rusk and Lord Simon of Glaisdale, November 1973
    GAC number
    10935