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This watercolour is a copy of plate 7 from John Skinner Prout’s (1805-1876) 1835 lithograph series, Picturesque antiquities of Bristol. The series includes some 30 numbered plates depicting historical buildings and interiors of Bristol, providing a pre-photographic record of many of the city’s Medieval and early modern buildings which have since been lost or destroyed.

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The Church of St John the Baptist, also known as St John on the Wall, is one of Bristol’s oldest surviving churches, built into the old town wall in the 14th century. The eastern part of the crypt, depicted here, is the oldest section of the structure. It is vaulted in three bays, the ribs resting on wall shafts with moulded decorated capitals. The tomb shown at right through the gates is that of Thomas, churchwarden of St John’s and mayor of Bristol in 1530, and his wife.

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Prout’s choice of vocation and subject-matter closely followed that of his uncle, Samuel Prout (1783-1852), who was the much-admired master of architectural watercolour and painter to King George IV and Queen Victoria. Samuel’s ability to capture the simplicity of country life and the monumentality of European architecture evidently passed to his nephew, John, who moved to Australia in 1840 in search of new landscapes and opportunities. This contemporary copy, likely done by a talented amateur, speaks to the influence and popularity of the Prout family’s work during the first half of the 19th century.