Romanesque arcaded facade of St Botolph's Priory, Colchester, Essex, England, founded between 1093 and 1100 and dissolved in 1536 by King Henry VIII. Engraving by William Byrne, from an original drawing by landscape painter, Thomas Hearne (1744-1817), published in 1796 and later coloured by hand. The Priory was one of the first religious houses in England to adopt Augustinian monastic rule. When dissolved, its possessions were granted to Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor of England.
Engraving published in 1796. It is by the English engraver William Byrne, from an original drawing by the English landscape painter, engraver, illustrator and traveller, Thomas Hearne (1744-1817), and this particular example was later skilfully coloured by hand. It depicts the arcaded facade of the Romanesque ruins of St Botolph's Priory at Colchester in the County of Essex, England. St Botolph's Priory was founded between 1093 and 1100 and was one of the first religious houses in England to adopt Augustinian monastic rule. When St Botolph's was dissolved in 1536 its possessions were granted to Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor of England. Part of the structure remained in use as a parish church until the English Civil War siege of Colchester in 1648, when the church was largely destroyed. Even in its ruined state, the priory church is an impressive example of early Norman architecture and the elaborate west front is one of the best surviving examples from this period. This engraving is one of 84 scenes that Thomas Hearne drew on his travels through England, Scotland and Wales. They were mostly engraved by William Byrne and published from 1778 as 'The Antiquities of Great Britain', a series judged to have set new standards in the pictorial recording of mediaeval architecture.
Size: 12245px × 9965px
Location: Colchester, Essex, England
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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