Godshill, Hilltop Church above Thatched Cottages, Isle of Wight, 1829

An uncolored copper engraving of Godshill, Isle of Wight, drawn and engraved by George Brannon and published at Wotton Common on the first of June 1829. The medieval church stands on its green hill above the village with the tower clear against the sky, and below it the thatched roofs of the cottages run along the lane in a line, with trees, garden walls and figures on the road. Godshill is the most painted and photographed village on the island, and the composition Brannon settled on in 1829, church above and thatch below, is the one visitors still photograph from very nearly the same spot. The plate is in fine uncolored line, the thatch laid in short curved strokes and the church in firm vertical ones.

The view belongs to Vectis Scenery, George Brannon's series of original and select views of the Isle of Wight, printed and published by the engraver himself at Wotton Common on the island in 1829 and sold by the principal local booksellers. Brannon drew the subjects on the spot and cut the copper plates himself, so draughtsman and engraver are one man throughout. The volume's own advertisement leaf describes a first series of twenty-eight views with a map and letter-press, with a further twenty views issued separately as a Sequel. The technique is line engraving on copper. The views were issued uncolored, as line engravings on white paper, and this impression is uncolored.

A village drawn this often is worth owning in an early version, and Brannon's is among the first printed views of Godshill to be widely circulated. The church holds the fifteenth century Lily Cross wall painting and the Worsley monuments, so the building in the plate is a genuine destination rather than scenery. Godshill is the easiest sheet in the volume to place in an interior: thatch and a church tower suit a kitchen, a cottage sitting room or a holiday house, and it is the plate most often chosen as a gift by anyone with an island connection.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Handling soiling along the right edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left corner. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the bottom.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.