Benjamin Brecknell Turner Highlights

Early experiments, family portraits and the Photographic Circle

Turner's early experiments were made with a small camera taking negatives measuring about 15 x 18 cm (6 x 7 inches). He took pictures of his wife Agnes, the church where they were married and fishermen with their boats. From the mid 1850s he built a studio - a 'glass house' above his London business premises - and a darkroom. He made many portraits here although he seems never to have exhibited them.

Turner's subjects were his family and household members, business associates and fellow photographers. For portraits, Turner often used glass negatives which had short exposure times and rendered a high level of detail. Yet for his large views of rural scenes which he exhibited he remained loyal to Talbot's paper negative.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Agnes Chamberlain with Parasol'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Agnes Chamberlain with Parasol'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (born 1815-1894)
'Agnes Chamberlain with Parasol' (Turner's wife)
England
About 1849
Salted paper print
Anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Portrait of Agnes Turner with a book'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Portrait of Agnes Turner with a book'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
'Portrait of Agnes Turner with a book' (Turner's wife)
England
About 1850
Albumen print from paper negative
Anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Chamberlain and Turner Family group'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Chamberlain and Turner Family group'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Chamberlain and Turner Family group'
England
About 1850
Albumen print
Private collection, on loan to the V&A

Turner's many informal portraits of family and friends perhaps satisfied the need to record the people who mattered to him. As a result, figures rarely appear in the views he made for exhibition. Some of Turner's portraits were made outdoors at Bredicot but the majority appear to have been made in his glass roofed studio which was situated over the premises of his business in London.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, portrait of Mark Anthony

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, portrait of Mark Anthony

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
Portrait of Mark Anthony, photographer
England
About 1850
Albumen print from paper negative
Anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Three Fishermen'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Three Fishermen'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Three Fishermen'
England
About 1849
Calotype negative
Anonymous Loan
 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Three men in a shooting party

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Three men in a shooting party

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
Three men in a shooting party, Henry Chamberlain, BB Turner and an unidentified man
England
About 1849
Albumen print from paper negative
Anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Wine Drinkers'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Wine Drinkers'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'The Wine Drinkers', Henry Chamberlain, BB Turner and an unidentified man
England
About 1850
Albumen print from paper negative
Anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Portrait of David Bogne

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Portrait of David Bogne

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
Portrait of David Bogne, Bookseller
England
About 1850
Albumen print from paper negative
Anonymous loan

Bredicot, Worcestershire and the West

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.17-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.17-1982

Many of Turner's photographs were made in the West Midland county of Worcestershire. In 1837, Turner's father-in-law gave up his part in Worcester porcelain manufacture and purchased Bredicot Court in Bredicot village, a cluster of cottages, a church and a few farm buildings four miles from the city of Worcester where Turner stayed for holidays.

As the first person to photograph and, in a sense, 'capture' Bredicot, Turner must have felt ownership of his surroundings. By making pictures in summer and winter, and by effective repositioning of the camera, he coaxed the location to yield a surprising number of visual aspects. However, he chose not to aim his camera at the railway which had recently cut through the village. The country was a place to relax with the family and photograph the signs of a reassuring older order. Bredicot provided a base for other photographic excursions in the area around Worcester and further west to Ludlow.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Bredicot Church, Worcestershire'
England
1852-4
Unwaxed paper Negative
Museum no. PH.24-1982
Anonymous loan

This is the church of  St James the Less at Bredicot, Worcestershire, in which Turner married Agnes Chamberlain in 1847. The building is 13th century in origin but was restored in 1843, probably at the instigation of the Chamberlain family. Amongst the 19th century fittings are floor tiles produced at the Chamberlain factory. Chamberlain tiles can also be seen on the floor of Worcester Cathedral.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Windmill

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Windmill

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Windmill, Kempsey, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.10-1982

Kempsey was an ideal location for windmills, being in fact notoriously windy. In 1802 a hurricane blew the sails of the windmill round so fast that it was set on fire. This tower-mill has a wooden top that would have rotated - by means of the wheel and pulley rope attached - to allow the sails to face into the wind. The sails lack a substantial amount of canvas - a sign that the building was not in use for its original purpose. By the 1850s the use of windmills as a form of grinding grain was drawing to a close. They could not compete with the mechanised production of the new steam-driven mills.

Although a windmill had stood at Kempsey for over 500 years this one was the last. It was demolished about twenty years after the photograph - but the history of the site is still preserved in the present road name, 'Windmill Lane'. Today just the brick cottages to the right of the windmill, and a millstone in a nearby garden, remain. There are still views across open fields to the River Severn and the Malvern Hills beyond, though these are not visible on Turner's photograph.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Tree

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Tree

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
'Hedgerow Tree, Cherkenleap'
England
Museum no. PH.13-1982

The figure posing here is probablyTurner himself - the long exposure of perhaps several minutes would have allowed him to take up position. The fence the man leans on has been built in the old-fashioned way with timbers of hand-cleft, rather than machine-sawn, oak following the natural grain of the wood. The ancient trees are heavily cut back or pollarded to promote growth of new, slim branches used perhaps for firewood, brooms or weaving into baskets. Wood from these trees was also probably used to make the fence. Visual interest hinges on the repeated 'V'-shaped forms of the paired trees which echo one another. More than a country scene of ancient oaks and time-honoured rural skills, the implied theme is the cycle of nature, pairings and perhaps companionship.

Much open countryside remains at Clerkenleap, a small place with a few houses and petrol station on the A38 just south of Worcester's southern ring road. Whilst the exact location of this photograph has not been identified, there are still many views in the area where the scene remains relatively unchanged to those seen in Turner's photographs.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crowle Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crowle Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Crowle Court'
Worcestershire
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from calotype negative   
Museum no. PH.14-1982

This medieval moated manor was held by the priors of Worcester, who visited it frequently, as recorded in the 16th century journals and accounts of Prior William More. The moat, visible to the right of the raised entrance roadway, was once used as a defence, though later as a decorative status symbol, and indicates the importance of the site. Turner was no doubt drawn by the way the ancient building seems to grow out of its surrounding terrain.

The Court was in a very poor state of repair in Turner's time and demolished by the end of the 19th century. Next to the present small farmhouse can be seen the surviving sandstone walls of one of the ground floor rooms with a fine fireplace and remains of a tiled floor. South of the moat, the farmyard and tithe barn have recently been restored and converted to houses.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Hedgerow Trees at Clerkenleap, Worcestershire'
England
About 1850
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.15-1982

The idiosyncratic shape of the two trees which form the main subject of this image, would have been created by deliberate pruning or 'pollarding'. This process promotes the growth of smaller branches, out of the reach of livestock, used as firewood or for crafts. Pollarding was common place during the medieval period. Pollard trees were often situated on the boundaries of fields and were common property; but the enclosure acts of the 18th and early 19th century resulted in their private ownership. This photograph therefore shows a nostalgia for the past while revealing the effects of political change in the rural landscape.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.16-1982

The lane at Bredicot, photographed here in dramatic, plunging perspective, is an ancient public carriage road which was, and is still, the only route into and through the village. The tallest structure on the left - with its distinctive brick foundation, timber walls and thatched, hipped gable roof - can be identified as the opposite end of the large barn seen in Foldyard, Bredicot, Court, Museum no. PH.23-1982 . The barns have disappeared during the 20th century as the working farm has developed, and been replaced with more up to date functional buildings. Two of the cottages on the right can still be seen today.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.18-1982

Today Court Cottage is one of the least altered buildings from the Bredicot of Turner's day, though some of the timber framing is now hidden by a later extension. Note that the corner of the timber framed dovecot is just visible to the right of the house, helping us to pinpoint the site of this vanished building, shown here .

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
About 1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.19-1982

Today named 'Court Cottage', this building is the second largest dwelling in Bredicot village after Bredicot Court. The 'L'-shaped half-timbered house dates probably from the 16th century but was restored with brick work on its end wall in the 18th century. Its compact but interesting shape made it a subject that could be satisfyingly photographed from a variety of aspects. Turner showed it from both back, as in this image, and from the front.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot, Worcestershire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.20-1982

This timber framed dovecote was used to keep doves or pigeons for their fresh meat and eggs. The birds, that nested in slots built along the tall inside walls, were reached by a ladder. By the 19th century most new dovecotes were built as decorative features. This ancient example may have been in use as a store by the time it was photographed by Turner. Rustic equipment adds interest to the scene: the thatched shelter in need of repair, a hand made tip-cart on the right and, in the foreground, a flat roller for compressing earth with logs placed on top to add extra weight.

The dovecot has long disappeared, and its location to the east of Court Cottage is almost forgotten. This photograph emphasises the value of Turner's pictures as historical and archaeological records of lost buildings.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cottage

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cottage

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Cottage, Bredicot Common'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.21-1982

This 17th and 18th century part timber framed building near Spetchley survives today as 'Ash Tree Cottage', though it has been much altered. No longer part thatched, with new windows and further extended, it can be identified by its plan, shape and chimneys.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Bredicot Court'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.22-1982

Turner used this image as his contribution to The Photographic Album for the Year 1855. In the accompanying text he noted 'taken by Fox Talbot's process in April, 10 am, in clear sunshine. Exposure 30 minutes'. The main structure of Bredicot Court is an early 17th century half-timbered brick house of two storeys and an attic with a tiled roof added in the 18th century. The lower building to the right is a piggery. Piggeries were traditionally located close to farmhouses so that the pigs could be conveniently fed on household waste.

The Court remains the farmhouse, and although modernised has been little changed externally. Much of the foreground area is now taken up with 20th century farm buildings.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Abbey Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Abbey Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Abbey Church, Pershore'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.8-1982

Today, like most English churches, Pershore Abbey is stripped of its ivy. The pinnacles added to the tower in 1871 and two large flying buttresses, constructed in 1913 to shore up the increasingly unstable crossing and tower, significantly alter its appearance from Turner's photograph.

Structural problems have been recorded for much of the history of the Abbey church at Pershore. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, the townspeople purchased the east end of the church as their place of worship for £400 and the nave was demolished, weakening the building. The ivy on the south transept cannot have helped the state of the fabric, which was a growing cause of concern following the collapse of the north transept in 1686. The Abbey was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1862 and 1864.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the small image below to view the scene as it is today.

 

 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Old Doorway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Old Doorway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Old Doorway, Pershore Abbey'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.9-1982

Both Turner's views of Pershore Abbey are taken from the park of Abbey House, and the site of the medieval monastic buildings. Abbey House was demolished in the 1930s, after which the park was united with the churchyard to form Abbey Park and the castellated boundary wall seen in Turner's photographs was removed. Here, Turner concentrates on a closer look at the rich textures of stone, ivy and brick.

The 14th century Decorated style ruined doorway gave access from the nave of the abbey church to the monastic cloisters. It is one of the few surviving reminders of the living quarters of the monks who occupied this great Benedictine monastery from its foundation in the 8th century until 1539.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Foldyard Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Foldyard Bredicot Court'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Foldyard Bredicot Court'
England
1852-1854   
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.23-1982

This scene is redolent of summer. The atmospheric effects of 'aerial' perspective (a sense of depth through increasingly softened focus in the distance) are evident in the backdrop of the gently rising land with its detail lost in a warm, golden haze, enhanced by the honey colour of the print. The evidence of agricultural activity also helps to pinpoint the season. A foldyard is usually where cattle are kept in winter, but here it is being utilised for a different purpose. Hay, cut in the summer months, has been heaped here prior to storing it in the barn ready to feed the animals through the winter.

Although the yard is still in the same place today, it is hard to recognise Turner's idyllic scene. The cottage in the background survives as almost the sole surviving structure, though in the present view it is obscured by 20th century farm buildings. Churchill Wood on the skyline beyond remains a constant feature in this changed landscape.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Worcester Cathedral

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Worcester Cathedral

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Worcester Cathedral, from across the Severn'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.6-1982

Taken from across the River Severn, where the county cricket ground and Kings School playing field are now located, this photograph captures the west end of the Cathedral. Predating its 1860s renovation, this image shows the transept of the cathedral missing a turret. The building at the bottom left has also been subsequently demolished leaving just the medieval masonry of the former monastic reredorter (lavatories) and undercroft to the infirmary. Other buildings can still be seen today, particularly the medieval Watergate to the right. In medieval times the river was tidal and the gateway would flood twice a day, creating a small dock where boats could unload. The river bank was changed when the promenade was created in 1844.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Edgar Tower

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Edgar Tower

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'The Edgar Tower, Worcester'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.7-1982

Turner often used gateways as a device to introduce a theme or geographical location. This fortified gateway to the southern part of the monastic precinct of the Cathedral was built in the 14th century. It was formerly known as St Mary's Gate. By the 18th century it was believed to have been built during the reign of King Edgar in the 10th century and so it became known as Edgar Tower.

This view from College Green remains remarkably unchanged today, though the stonework of Edgar Tower was restored in 1912. Note the bay window which has been added later to the house in the background along Edgar Street, visible through the arch.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Earl's Croome Church'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Earl's Croome Church'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Earl's Croome Church'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.12-1982

Earl's Croome church was built in the 12th century. However, the stone tower captured in this photograph replaced an earlier timber-framed structure in 1832. The Norman fabric of the nave and chancel retain fine 12th century doorways, though the many of the windows were changed in the later middle ages. The window in the south east corner of the chancel has unusual wooden tracery. The gables have been rebuilt with the loss of some Norman stonework which is still evident in Turner's photograph.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Earl's Croome Court

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Earl's Croome Court

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
Earl's Croome Court
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.11-1982

According to A History of the County of Worcester (1913):

'The village of Earl's Croome contains nothing of any particular interest, with the exception of Earl's Croome Court, a half-timber house of the early 17th century, which has, however, been considerably altered and modernized. This was formerly the residence of the Jeffery family.'

The Court stands opposite the church, but can be glimpsed today in a more distant view from the west across the fields from the A38.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey, Interior', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.49-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey, Interior', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.49-1982 (click image for larger version)

Ruined castles and abbeys

'Great thoughts stir within me at the sight of ruins. Everything gradually crumbles and vanishes. Only the world remains. Only time endures … I am walking between two eternities.'
Diderot (1767)

Most of the abbeys and castles in England and Wales fell into ruin as a result of the religious and political Reformation under King Henry VIII. From the mid-1530s, the buildings were converted, surrendered to new owners, dismantled and plundered for their building materials or abandoned and left to ruin.

The ruins of the Yorkshire abbeys became popular Victorian tourist sites. Towns like Whitby developed as such and were also locations of antiquarian pilgrimage. The interest that crumbling, ivy-covered ruins like Whitby exerted on artists like Turner led to an increased appreciation of the sites. Ironically this in turn lead later to their preservation. Turner's views convey the gothic mystery and brooding atmosphere of ruins in their pre-preserved state.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.27-1982

One of the main defensive positions on the English / Welsh border was Ludlow Castle. Construction began around 1086 although building continued during subsequent centuries. Throughout its history the royal castle was a centre for provincial rule. During the civil war of the 17th century it was defended for the king but surrendered in 1646. Soon after it was deserted and fell into decay. By the 1770s a surveyor was sent to see if demolition was practical. His report suggested that the cost of demolition would be greater than the profits made from the sale of salvaged materials. So the ruin stood gaining popularity with generations of tourists and artists in search of the picturesque.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.28-1982

Turner's approach to photographing Ludlow Castle is characteristic of his working methods. He almost stalks its different aspects, establishing the setting, orienting the viewer and then gradually moving closer. The prints were sequenced in his album in order of increasing close-up. With this print he chose (unusually for him) to trim it to an arched top - a standard compositional format used in this case to hide a defect at the edges of the negative.
 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Ludlow Castle, Causeway and Entrance'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.29-1982

As one contemporary guide book pointed out,  Ludlow Castle was a site which showed, '… a full union of those features in rural scenery which constitute picturesque'. It was tailor-made for the photographer. The guide went on to praise the ruin's features: '… the bold masses of light and shade produced by deep retiring breaks; the rich tints and stains of age; the luxurious mantling of ivy and the sullen stillness that now reigns throughout these forlorn and deserted towers… the effect of the whole is calculated at once to awaken the enthusiasm of fancy and to diffuse the calm of contemplation.'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Rivaulx Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Rivaulx Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Rivaulx Abbey, Yorkshire'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.46-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Whitby Abbey, Yorkshire, Site of Central Tower'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.50-1982

A guide to Whitby published in 1850 notes how less than 20 years before major parts of the building were still collapsing into a ruin. The tower, which was 104 feet high, collapsed in 1833. Turner showed the rubble at the site.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Whitby Abbey, Yorkshire, North Transept'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.52-1982

In the last image of Turner's sequence of Whitby Abbey the windows are reduced to thin lancets of light. Almost all sense of linear perspective is flattened out and all areas of the print from side to side and top to bottom are equally important and dense with information.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Whitby Abbey

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Whitby Abbey, Yorkshire, from the North East'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.47-1982

From the 1220s Whitby Abbey housed Benedictine monks until they surrendered it to King Henry VIII in 1538 after which the building was abandoned and fell into ruin. The gaunt remains are set high on a cliff-top overlooking the town and harbour. It is approached from the town by climbing 199 steps. In his original album sequence Turner grouped the views of Whitby Abbey in a way that suggests a slow zooming in on the subject from a distance.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Ludlow Castle, Doorway of Round Church'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.30-1982

The round chapel of St. Mary Magdalene at Ludlow, built in the early 12th century, is an excellent example of Norman architecture. Turner photographed close up the richly ornamented doorway with its characteristic zigzag 'dog tooth' carving. Strong directional light picks out detailed ornament yet throws the portal itself into deep shadow. Concentration on the unavoidable gaping darkness makes this image less of an attempt to record an architectural feature and more of an emotive statement about standing poised on a threshold and gazing into the unknown.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'North Side of Quadrangle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'North Side of Quadrangle

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'North Side of Quadrangle, Arundel Castle, Sussex'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.44-1982

Despite having the traditional appearance of an ancient castle the part of Arundel photographed by Turner was barely 50 years old at the time. It lasted only 70 years before it was demolished in the 1870s. Dominating the east wing was a sculptural relief by J.F.C. Rossi showing King Alfred Instituting Trial by Jury on Salisbury Plain. Alfred the Great, the 9th century King of Wessex was renowned for his defence of England against the Danes, his institution of laws and encouragement of learning. Within the context of Turner's other pictures in Photographic Views from Nature - showing a cross-section of typical and celebrated English landscape and architectural types - Alfred stands as an appropriate human symbol of English historical lineage and patriotic native values.

Photographic Views from Nature

'The immediate aim … is to increase the interest for, and promote the study of, the Rural Scenery of England … to mark the influence of light and shadow upon landscape … also to show its use and power as a medium of expression.'
John Constable, introduction to English Landscape (1833)

Benjamin Brecknell Turner could have used this passage to introduce his own album of 60 images, 'Photographic Views from Nature' by Benjamin Brecknell Turner. Taken in 1852, 1853 and 1854 On Paper by Mr. Fox Talbot's Process.

Throughout 'Photographic Views from Nature' Turner experimented with the photographic process by addressing traditional subjects of the graphic arts to see what solutions could be achieved with the new medium. Utilising its monochrome palette and the capacity to make close-ups, he tested its abilities to render the flow of water, atmospheric qualities and intricate textures. Many of his techniques were used for the first time or at a height of ambition not previously attempted. The landscape and architectural subjects are types that represent English history from a Victorian perspective. As a whole, the selection is a compendium of patriotic and picturesque locations and an anthology of paper negative practice.

Click on the images below to view larger versions

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, contents page from album 'Photographic Views from Nature'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, contents page from album 'Photographic Views from Nature'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, contents page from album 'Photographic Views from Nature', 1854

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, album Cover 'Photographic Views From Nature'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, album Cover 'Photographic Views From Nature'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, album Cover 'Photographic Views From Nature', 1854, anonymous loan

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Lynmouth

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Lynmouth

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Lynmouth, North Devon'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.3-1982

Romantic poets were to a large extent responsible for the increasing popularity of visiting locations in England for sensory inspiration and spiritual enlightenment. Lynmouth, a village on the Devon coast, was one such magnetic location. Shelley, Wordsworth and Coleridge all visited. Although popular the village was difficult to reach. The railway did not arrive until 1898. In the 1850s this was a select place for discriminating visitors who arrived by coach or steamer from Bristol. Turner photographed the Italianate holiday villas with their balconies overlooking the river Lyn that flows through the village.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Crystal Palace Transept

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Crystal Palace Transept

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815 - 94)
Crystal Palace Transept, Hyde Park
England
About 1852
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.1-1982

Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace housed the Great Exhibition of 1851. Here, for the first time anywhere in the world, a significant number of fine photographs were displayed. Over 700 photographs, from six countries, were shown. The exhibition probably influenced Turner to acquire a new, large camera that year. In March 1852, when the six million visitors had departed and nearly all of the thousands of exhibits had been removed - but before the building had been dismantled (to be rebuilt in Sydenham in south London) - Turner photographed the interior. His view of the elm tree enclosed in the iron and glass structure can be read as a comparative study on the work of nature and the engineering of man.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crystal Palace

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Crystal Palace

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894) 
'Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, 1852, Nave'
England
1852-1854
Albumen Print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.2-1982

This is a view of the 1, 848 feet long transept of the Crystal Palace showing the swooping lines of the roof trusses. No doubt Turner was struck by the purity of its form after all of the complex decoration of the exhibition courts and the exhibits had gone. Other photographers worked in the Crystal Palace: none matched this image of the brilliant tensile geometry of its structure.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Lyndale

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Lyndale

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Lyndale, North Devon'
England
Albumen Print from paper negative
1852-1854
Museum no. PH.4-1982

One of the most illusive features of nature for photographers was water. As in many photographs of the time, due to the long exposure, the water in this image has turned into a veil wrapped around the forms of the rocks. In 1857 one critic noted: 'Water our art altogether misses, turning it either into congealed mud or to mere chaos or nonentity'. Turner's river image is a good instance of purely photographic effect here used to good aesthetic effect. Perhaps he acknowledged and enjoyed this peculiar photographic phenomenon for its own qualities.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cathedral Yard

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Cathedral Yard

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1815-1894)
'Cathedral Yard, Peterborough'
Albumen Print from paper negative
England
1852-1854
Museum no. PH.5-1982

The motif of the forbidding or enticing entrance or gateway, as in this image, recurs throughout Photographic Views from Nature as if to punctuate the visual journey with points of entry and departure.


Pathways, pilgrimages and farms in Surrey and Kent

'A painter's eye will often be arrested where ordinary people see nothing remarkable. A casual gleam of sunshine, or a shadow thrown across his path, a time-withered oak, or a moss-covered stone may awaken a train of thoughts and feelings, and picturesque imaginings'
William Henry Fox Talbot (1846)

Benjamin Brecknell Turner's pictures of Surrey and Kent are based in an area he could cover on a short walk, an excursion of a day or two. While basing his images on picturesque subjects, Turner forged a visual sensibility in which the capacity of photography to record the fine textures of the natural world became a new force of expression. As with the watercolourists of the generation before, part of the method of creating artworks for the photographer involved touring the country to find suitable rural locations. Family connections, as well as sites famed for romantic and picturesque pilgrimage, provided the impetus to visit locations far afield.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Eashing Bridge

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Eashing Bridge

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Eashing Bridge, Surrey'
1852-1854
England
Albumen print from paper negative 
Museum no. PH.32-1982

Eashing Bridge is a medieval double bridge spanning the river Wey. It is the best of a series of bridges on the river between Farnham and Guildford that were probably built by the monks of nearby Waverley Abbey in the 13th century. Turner's view shows the rise of the bridge where it springs just before the riverbank. Although part of the reason for photographing this site must have been its historical renown, Turner showed that his interest was not entirely on the structure but on its context, specifically the intricate patterns of the screen of trees. This is one of Turner's most deliberately two-dimensional pictures where the flat patterning filling the frame holds the interest

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Pepperharrow Park

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Pepperharrow Park

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Pepperharrow Park, Surrey'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.37-1982

The patterns of branches formed against pale skies on photographic paper were especially appealing to Turner and his fellow calotype practitioners. Trees were a subject that could demonstrate the camera's unparalleled veracity in recording natural forms. They were also venerable subjects with long histories and nationalistic associations. In this photograph Turner focussed on a hoary oak tree producing something akin to a portrait.
 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Near Hawkhurst Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Near Hawkhurst Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Near Hawkhurst Church, Kent'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.55-1982

This weather-boarded building, directly opposite the church at Hawkhurst (Museum no. PH.54-1982)  was once a bake-house. Although the building still stands, little-altered, the giant 'church oak' to the right has long since vanished.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Farm Yard

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Farm Yard

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Farm Yard, Elfords, Hawkhurst'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.57-1982

The bare branches of the elm trees and the dark clusters of rooks nests in this image show up clearly against the pale sky. The barrel fixed to wheels on the right is a water cart. Also to the right, a haystack, with a ladder leaning against it, has been cut back and some of the straw piled up as feed for the animals that would have been housed in the barn and fenced enclosure on the left. Concentration on these details indicates Turner's understanding of the cycle of the rural calendar.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Entrance and Gateway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Entrance and Gateway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Entrance and Gateway, Losely Park'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative   
Museum no. PH.39-1982

Turner's pictures of the house and grounds at Loseley House (near Guildford) follow the formal vistas of an approaching visitor in the sequence of his album: the long avenue of lime trees leading up to the house, the entrance gateway, the front of the house itself, and the park and its lake. The entrance gateway, with its geometrical shapes such as the triangular gables - one incorporating a dovecote - and the arch, have long since vanished although the separate bothy to the right and the entrance bridge still stand.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'At Compton

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'At Compton

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'At Compton, Surrey'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.33-1982
 

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Compton

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Compton

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Compton, Surrey'
England
19th century
Albumen print   
Museum no. PH.34-1982

This farm lay on the path of a pilgrimage route in the Middle Ages. The barn, with its double doors open, was built not primarily as an agricultural building but as a pilgrim shelter. The barn acts as focal point in a detailed farmyard scene. On the left, a thatched cornrick, indicative of the summer's good harvest stands raised on 'staddle' stones to protect it from damp, rats and mice. Behind, a wooden thatched barn with combined dovecote has a pair of ladders, to climb corn and hayricks, hanging on its side. On the right is a haystack used in part for the livestock's winter feed. No sign of the 19th century intrudes. This ordered and abundant scene documents forms of age-old rural practice that were to vanish over the next few decades due to increasing industrialisation.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Head of the Lake

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Head of the Lake

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Head of the Lake, Losely Park'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.41-1982

Continuing directly through the entrance gateway seen Entrance Gateway, Losely House (Museum no. PH.39-1982 ) the visitor eventually finds him or herself at the head of the lake. Cropped at top and bottom the tree on the right acts as a framing device with one long, dark branch cutting diagonally across the top of the picture like a bolt of lightning.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Willowsway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'The Willowsway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'The Willowsway, Elfords, Hawkhurst'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.58-1982

This view shows a lane of pollarded willows. Pollarding is a way of cutting back trees to promote growth of new, slim branches used for firewood, brooms or weaving into baskets. Willow is also used for making artist's charcoal. Turner's son recalled how, even in his father's skilled hands, making one exposure 'never took less than three quarters of an hour'. Turner made two other known negatives of this scene so he probably spent about two and a quarter hours here. The image places the viewer on the path, framed with willows either side, as a traveller approaching the gate.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Scotch Firs

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Scotch Firs

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Scotch Firs, Hawkhurst'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.59-1982

This was the photograph Turner exhibited most frequently during his lifetime. His favoured motif of the rural lane, this time lined with tall Scotch fir trees, is shown dramatically. The fence sweeping diagonally to the right is made partly of wood but also of wire - an unusual modern note. But the rest of the scene shows familiar Turner subjects, the ancient trees, the reflection in a pond, the old farm buildings and a cartwheel.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Causeway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Causeway

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Causeway, Head of the Lake, Losely Park'
England
1852-1854
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.42-1982

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hurtmore Lane

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hurtmore Lane

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Hurtmore Lane, Surrey'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.35-1982

A closer view of the shed seen in another view of Hurtmore Lane (Ph.36-1982)  presents more of the tangle of coppiced branches on the left and a small pair of wheels placed curiously in the foreground. An alternative negative of the subject (in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society) reveals one minor difference: the wheels have been replaced by a bundle of sticks showing how Turner was not averse to tinkering with foreground details to enhance meaning or improve the composition and the apparently natural evidence of rustic disorder.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hurtmore Lane

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hurtmore Lane

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Hurtmore Lane, Surrey'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.36-1982

In this photograph Turner photographed a country lane cutting between a house and a simple shed housing what appears to be low farm wagons. The composition is of two distinct halves with the lane curving tantalisingly off into shadow at the left, begging the eye to continue the journey, while past the gate and the shed at the right the land rises into a high embankment, defying the expectation of a low horizon.

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hawkhurst Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Hawkhurst Church

Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Hawkhurst Church, Kent'
England
1852-54
Albumen print from paper negative
Museum no. PH.54-1982

Hawkhurst's 14th century church - with its 15th century tower - is in this image perfectly reflected in the still village pond on a bright winter morning. The bundles of sticks stacked up to the right may be poles used for growing hops, or willow branches that would have been soaked in the pond to soften them for fashioning into fences, baskets or suchlike. Given that the mirrored image is a house of God, the scene can be read as a meditation on the nature of divine truth and its reflection in the physical world. Turner's alternative title for the picture - A Photographic Truth, which he used when it was exhibited at the Royal Society of Arts in 1852 - suggests it can also be understood as a comment on the self reflexive nature and philosophical possibilities of photography
 

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