Great Totham in 1821
(or thereabouts)
Not long before 1831 – and very probably in 1821 – ‘Miss
Hayter’ painted a picture of Great Totham Church. We are reasonably certain
that the artist was Ann Hayter (1795-1854), daughter of Charles and sister of
Sir George, also both painters. The picture was rediscovered in 2013 behind a
cupboard in the church vestry, where it had suffered greatly from dirt and
damp. It is now in the process of being cleaned and repaired, with the aid of
grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Essex Heritage Trust, and the Church
Buildings Council. As well as being a charming work of art in its own right, it
is a valuable record of the appearance of the church as it was before being
restored and enlarged later in the later 19th century.
To celebrate the anticipated return of the painting to the
church in October, there will be an afternoon of short talks in St Peter’s
Church, Great Totham, on Saturday 1 November, beginning at 2.30 pm. This will
look at aspects of life in Great Totham in the 1820s and 1830s, in particular
the connection between the Hayter family and the Revd Thomas Foote Gower,
curate and later vicar of the parish, and the part played in the history of the
painting by Charles Clark, farmer, amateur printer, and doggerel poet, who was
at one time its owner. Speakers will include historians James Bettley and Clive
Potter, amateur printer Alan Brignull, and poet Adam Crick.
Admission is free. Further information about the painting
and the event can be found at http://totham1821.wordpress.com/,
or email jamesbettley@btinternet.com.
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