Joshua Cristall Fern gathering, Coppett Hill, Goodrich, Herefordshire

Signed and dated l.l.: J Cristall 1829, watercolour over traces of pencil with scratching out and touches of gum arabic
37.8 x 28.2 cm.; 14 7/8 x 11 1/8 inches

Provenance
Abbott and Holder Ltd.;
Mrs Brian McQuade, Chertsey;
By descent until 2023

Exhibited

Society of Painters in Water-Colours, 1829, no. 62 or 219 or 325 (Cristall exhibited 3 works entitled Fern Burners, Coppett Hill, Goodrich, Herefordshire in 1829)

This is a particularly fine watercolour depicting the fern gatherers on Coppett Hill, whom Cristall liked to draw. The bracken on the hill was cut, as shown in the present work, and the stubble then burnt, releasing potash to encourage the next year’s growth. The bracken was used for making soap, often in cauldrons on the hillside, as litter in pigsties and for thatching.

Coppett Hill rises steeply out of Goodrich village, with woodland turning into stony bracken before a long descent to the river Wye below Coldwell Rocks. The hill has views of the Brecon and Black Mountains in one direction and the Malvern Hills in the other. It was a favourite walk of the artist, who lived from 1823 at Granton Cottage in Goodrich, which had fine views of Coppett Hill.