Pembroke

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Wales Office, Gwydyr House, Whitehall

Placed on a coastal peninsula between two tidal inlets is Pembroke’s Norman castle. Thought to be one of the best preserved castles in the country, the round tower of the Inner Gatehouse, on the right of the composition, was built in 1200 and the square Northern Hall in the centre of the painting dates from 1280. The artist, Campbell Mellon has depicted the castle in a picturesque manner, covered in ivy and reflected in the water of a low tide. The soft tonal range of the work suggests nothing of the castle’s historical importance: it was the launch point for the Normans embarking on their Irish campaigns; the birthplace of Henry Tudor, and Oliver Cromwell himself came to Pembroke and took the castle after a seven-week siege in the latter stages of the Civil War. What is particularly interesting about Pembroke Castle, which Mellon depicts in his painting, is the entrance into the castle at the base of the Northern Hall. As a heavily fortified building, it is particularly surprising to find such an easily accessible entry way.

Places

Wales, Pembroke Castle, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembroke River

Subjects

topography, townscape/cityscape, river bank, river, path, house, fortification, castle, church, tower

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Campbell Archibald Mellon (1878 - 1955)

Title

Pembroke

Date

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 56.00 cm, width: 76.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Walker's Galleries, January 1956

Inscription

br: C. A. Mellon.

GAC number

3412