Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard'

Benjamin Brecknell Turner, 'Ludlow Castle from the Tiltyard', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.27-1982

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', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.28-1982

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, Causeway and Entrance', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.29-1982

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, Yorkshire', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.46-1982

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, Yorkshire, Site of Central Tower', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.50-1982

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, Yorkshire, North Transept', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.52-1982

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, Yorkshire, from the North East', 1852-54. Museum no. PH.47-1982

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, Doorway of Round Church', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.30-1982

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, Arundel Castle, Sussex', 1852-1854. Museum no. PH.44-1982

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.