Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding An angler on the Severn near the Wrekin, Shropshire

Watercolour over pencil heightened with bodycolour and scratching out

24.5 x 35.5 cm

Provenance
Sotheby’s, 13 July, 1989, lot 173, bought by Neuberg;
Private collection, U.K.

Legend has it that a giant called Gwendol Wrekin ap Shenkin ap Mynyddmawr had a grudge against the town of Shrewsbury and decided to flood it to kill all its inhabitants. He collected a giant-sized spade of earth and set off towards the town. When he was near Wellington he met a cobbler returning from Shrewsbury market with a large sack of shoes for repair. The giant asked him for directions, adding that he was going to dump his spade of earth in the River Severn and flood the town. "It's a very long way to Shrewsbury," replied the quick-thinking shoemaker. "Look at all these shoes I've worn out walking back from there!" The giant changed his mind and dumped the earth on the ground beside him, creating the Wrekin.