Art as a tool in support of the understanding of

coastal change in Northern Ireland

Marine research report Professor Robin McInnes Sarah Benstead

The Crown Estate London 16 New Burlington Place London W1S 2HX 020 7851 5000 Edinburgh 6 Bell’s Brae Edinburgh EH4 3BJ 0131 260 6070

www.thecrownestate.co.uk @TheCrownEstate

‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Northern Ireland’ Professor Robin McInnes, OBE FICE FGS FRSA and Sarah Benstead, BSc (Hons) FRSA © Crown Copyright 2015 ISBN: 978-1-906410-54-4 Front Cover: ‘The Stack Rock, County Antrim’. Clarkson Stanfield, 1861.

Published by The Crown Estate The basis of this report was work undertaken by Robin McInnes and Sarah Benstead of Coastal and Geotechnical Services on behalf of The Crown Estate.

Dissemination Statement This publication (excluding the logos) may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium. It may only be re-used accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as The Crown Estate copyright and use of it must give the title of the source publication. Where third party copyright material has been identified, further use of that material requires permission from the copyright holders concerned.

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Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this report are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of The Crown Estate, and The Crown Estate is not liable for the accuracy of the information provided or responsible for any use of the content.

Suggested Citation McInnes, R. and Benstead, S. 2015. ‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Northern Ireland’. The Crown Estate, 83 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-54-4

This report is available on The Crown Estate website at www.thecrownestate.co.uk

Contents Foreword

5

Executive Summary

6

Introduction to this report

13

1.0 Coastal change in Northern Ireland

18

2.0 How can historical resources assist in understanding coastal change?

24

3.0 Validating the accuracy of historical artworks of the coast of Northern Ireland

32

4.0 A description of the coastal art of Northern Ireland 1770-1940

52

5.0 The availability of art resources to support coastal management

60

6.0 Art and coastal change – case studies

66

7.0 Conclusions and Recommendations

78

Appendices Appendix 1 – Initial shortlist of artists who painted the Northern Ireland coastline 1770-1940 80

Appendix 2 – Selected further reading and reference books

82

Note: The spellings of place names in citations from books and historical documents have been unaltered and may differ from the current names and spellings.

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Foreword FIGURE i.1: ‘A map of Northern Ireland’ by J. S. Virtue, c.1880.

It is a pleasure to have been asked to write the foreword to this beautifully illustrated publication. By a remarkable coincidence, it ties together, for me at least, the two ends of my career – initially as a geomorphologist and latterly in one of Northern Ireland’s major cultural institutions in whose collection reside a number of the works featured here. Arguably, examples of every type of coastal feature found across northern Europe can be seen along the coast of Northern Ireland. This reflects a rich and diverse geology as well as the particular character of the waves and winds which shape the coastal landscape. It is no surprise, therefore, that for over three centuries artists have been drawn to our magnificent coastline. Their desire to record and respond to its natural beauty and scientific importance has left us a legacy which I feel certain none of them would have anticipated. This legacy lies in their having created images which, in the absence of other evidence, afford an opportunity to consider the rate and nature of coastal erosion and deposition. These images add a different dimension to the study of landscape. Appropriately interpreted, as here, they can complement in a distinctive way the scientific studies which seek to understand our changing coastline. We are becoming increasingly aware of the fragility of the natural environment. It can be no bad thing if the marriage of art and science helps raise that awareness – and even better if it can support efforts to address that fragility. I am delighted that, through this unique initiative, works held in public collections across Ireland will become familiar to new audiences. I would like to commend the authors for their enterprise and The Crown Estate for its ambition in developing this informative and engaging series of publications.

Dr Jim McGreevy Acting Chief Executive, National Museums Northern Ireland

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Evening Ballycastle (c.1924) by Frank McKelvey (1895-1974). © Estate of Frank McKelvey 2013.

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Executive Summary FIGURE i.2 (ABOVE): ‘The arrival of William III at Carrickfergus’. This painting dates from 1690 and is by an artist of the Irish School. For an early oil painting it provides some information on the extent of the beach at the time before further alterations to the castle along the waterfront.

FIGURE i.3 (BELOW): ‘Evening Ballycastle’ by Frank McKelvey, c.1924. Magnificent beaches backed by dramatic cliff lines are a characteristic of the coastline of Northern Ireland, particularly along the Antrim coast.

The coastline of Northern Ireland extends for a distance of 406 miles (650 km) from Derry, Co. Londonderry at the head of Lough Foyle in the west, running eastwards and south to Carlingford Lough. There are three coastal counties, Derry, Antrim and Down, which together display a remarkable variety of geological formations and resulting coastal landforms. The capital city, Belfast, is situated at the head of a large inlet, Belfast Lough. The coastal zone is backed by mountains with the Sperrin Hills in the north-west, the Antrim Plateau behind the easternmost coast, and the Mourne Mountains behind the town of Newcastle in the south. Flowing towards the coast from this hinterland are the Rivers Foyle and the Upper and Lower Bann. The coastline itself is characterised by rugged cliffs with spectacular geological features such as the Giant’s Causeway together with numerous wide sandy beaches such as those at Tyrella Bank, Downpatrick, Portrush, Downhill, Portstewart and Benone Strand, Limavady. Apart from its remarkable scenery and landscape character the coast supports a diversity of wildlife and natural habitats with equally important marine ecosystems in the offshore zones. Three quarters of Northern Ireland’s coastline is protected for either its conservation value or its internationally important species. In Northern Ireland, as elsewhere around the European coastline, there has been an increasing recognition of the pressures faced by coastal zones, not just as a result of natural coastal change but also arising from the competing demands of users. In order to reconcile the activities and interests of the many organisations and interests involved around the coast a sustainable framework for coastal management has been promoted to try and reconcile the pressures and conflicts between

stakeholders. ‘Integrated coastal zone management’ is now widely accepted as the most suitable approach in terms of managing coastal zones looking ahead over the next century. It has also been recognised, following research over the last 20 years in particular, that an understanding of long term coastal evolution and the physical processes of coastal change – marine erosion, sedimentary transport and its subsequent deposition, is fundamental to wise planning and decision-making for the future, particularly if, as a result of coastal climate change, these processes may speed up. The implications of sea level rise as well as, possibly, more unsettled weather patterns, are likely to increase the hazards of erosion and sea flooding with resulting impacts on businesses, infrastructure and residents around the coast of Northern Ireland. In order to measure the scale and rate of coastal change a number of tools have been developed by coastal scientists allowing them to assess conditions on land and at sea. However, around the coastline of Great Britain and Northern Ireland there are few locations where accurate measurement and monitoring of change have been taking place for more than a decade. Other historical recording techniques such as aerial photography have only been available since the Second World War. This study examines the potential for using art, including landscape paintings, watercolour drawings and prints from the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, to support existing scientific tools by providing a much longer term perspective to our understanding of coastal change. Art does, therefore, provide the potential to examine the changing coastline over the last two hundred years by illustrating physical changes, particularly since the Victorian period.

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FIGURE i.4: This watercolour of ‘Portrush’ by Geoffrey Bevington was painted in 1870 and provides a detailed view of beach conditions, coastal defences and the extent of development at that time. Such images allow us to compare physical, environmental and social changes over the last century.

FIGURE i.5: ‘Red Bay, County Antrim’. Andrew Nicholl (1804-

The opportunities provided by art to support understanding of coastal change have been highlighted through research commissioned over the last five years by The Crown Estate (McInnes, 20081; McInnes & Stubbings, 20102, 20113; McInnes & Benstead, 2013a4; 2013b5). These studies have investigated the ability of historical artworks to inform understanding of change along the coastlines of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, East Anglia, and more widely around the English, Welsh and Scottish coasts. The value of not only landscape paintings, watercolour drawings, and prints, but also other media including historic maps, sea charts, postcards and photographs, as well as early literature accounts, to extend the database of information in this important area, has been highlighted. The studies have sought to illustrate the impacts on coastal zones arising from the natural hazards of erosion, flooding, and landsliding, particularly along frontages which have been recognised as being of economic, historical or environmental importance.

1866) was a prolific painter of coastal scenery in Northern Ireland. He painted the Antrim coast particularly from 1828 and his work was commended by the art establishment. In 1829 The Northern Whig noted “perhaps there cannot be found a more favourable specimen of this branch of the fine arts, than the drawings and scenery of the Antrim coast which are now before us, executed by a very young, but undoubtedly an artist of great promise, Mr Andrew Nicholl”.

The Northern Ireland coast was visited by many artists in the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. Painters of the landscape generally create images that we can understand and easily appreciate both for the information they impart and for their aesthetic qualities. Fortunately the coastline of Northern Ireland has proved to be a source of inspiration for artists. The dramatic coastal scenery, including the Giant’s Causeway and the rocky headlands surmounted by mansions or castles such as Dunluce, have been portrayed through the works of both celebrated artists and amateurs who painted these varied coastal landforms and landscapes; these, collectively, contribute towards an illustrated chronology of coastal change since the late eighteenth century. It is also important to recognise that works of art form a medium that is usually enjoyed and understood by those who live on the coast or who are interested in it, and they often form images that coastal residents can immediately relate to and can assist their understanding of the changing coastline.

People who live along varied and beautiful coastlines, such as those of Northern Ireland, are often fascinated by the history and culture of their location, as well as having a great attachment to it, and this is often shared by visitors. Studies elsewhere (McInnes, 20081; McInnes, & Stubbings, 20102, 20113; McInnes & Benstead, 2013a4; 2013b5) have demonstrated that works of art and other historical images are of great interest and potential value by providing a comparison to the present day environment that is so well known to many coastal residents. Artworks, therefore, form a particularly useful tool for engaging with coastal stakeholders over issues such as coastal defence policy options and adaptation to long-term coastal change in the face of climate change. The Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution prevented travellers and artists from taking the Grand Tour of Europe for over twenty years and this led to a focus, instead, on the wilder and more remote landscapes of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Subsequently, during the Victorian era, the popularity of the seaside, and sea bathing, has provided us with a rich resource of illustrated books containing steel plate engravings, aquatints and lithographs and, later, photographs or colour prints. These illustrations were often supplemented by detailed accounts of the coastline of that time. Insight can, therefore, be gained from these often comprehensive descriptions provided alongside the images themselves. The studies commissioned previously by The Crown Estate (McInnes, 20081; McInnes & Stubbings, 20102, 20113; McInnes & Benstead, 2013a4,2013b5) have demonstrated that artworks do provide an important tool to support other techniques such as coastal monitoring programmes, including air-borne and space-borne techniques, ship-based surveying and ground surveying to assist our understanding of the complexities of coastal change. It has been recognised, in fact, that works of art extending back to the late eighteenth century, long before

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From the late eighteenth century artists and writers started to explore and record the scenery and antiquities of the coastline of Northern Ireland. Two of the most popular subjects

the days of photography, can often provide the only record of coastal conditions at that time. Depending upon the accuracy of the work of art or the written accounts, they can provide a useful assessment of the nature, scale and rate of coastal change over the last two hundred years.

for painting were the dramatically located Dunluce Castle (FIGURE i.6 TOP LEFT) and the Giant’s Causeway (FIGURE i.7 BOTTOM LEFT). Views such as these by John Nixon and other artists increased interest and awareness of the special qualities of this coastline and fostered discussion on the emerging science of geology.

The Crown Estate studies have provided the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the contribution that art, photography and historical literature accounts can make to our understanding of coastal change in England, Wales and Scotland. This new study of the coast of Northern Ireland has involved an assessment of works of art contained in Northern Ireland’s public collections of national, regional and local importance; additional valuable information has been gained from private galleries and collections. The evaluation of historical artworks has led to the creation of a short-list of those artists who, in the opinion of the authors, provide a reliable assessment of the nature of the coastline conditions at the time they were painted. Such a methodology can only be verified through the development of a ranking system, which allows accurate comparison to be made of the relative value of artworks in terms of assisting our understanding of the changing coast; this methodology, developed for previous studies completed for The Crown Estate, has been refined after examination of works of art relating to Northern Ireland’s coastline. Sustainable coastal management has received a higher profile in recent years as a result of actions by the European Commission (European Commission, 20026, 20077) and by the Government in terms of developing sustainable policies for the coast (DOE,20068; Defra and Environment Agency, 20119; Defra, 200910; CLG, 201011). These initiatives included supporting the preparation of non-statutory

estuary management plans and shoreline management plans for coastal risk management purposes, where they are deemed necessary. Other initiatives connected to recent legislation relating to flood prevention and climate change have also contributed to an assessment of the risks from the hazards of coastal erosion and flooding looking ahead over the next century. The research undertaken and knowledge gained from the implementation of these policies and plans is of vital importance, bearing in mind that physical coastal processes are likely to speed up as a result of predicted climate change and sea level rise. As a result of the actions of the Northern Ireland Government more effective policies for planning and management of change both in coastal zones and in the marine environment are now being pursued (Cooper, 201112). This study of Northern Ireland’s coastal art has demonstrated that there is a rich heritage of landscape paintings, watercolour drawings and prints, which can be used by those involved in coastal management to support a sustainable approach to its planning and management. The opportunity exists to make better use of such resources contained in museums and art galleries or held by local authorities. Artworks provide a view of the coastline that is easily appreciated in terms of illustrating coastal conditions over time, including images that will be immediately recognised and understood by those living or working on the coast, who may not necessarily have any technical knowledge of coastal processes and change. The authors hope that this report ‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Northern Ireland’ will prove particularly helpful by providing practical examples of how art and other historical resources can benefit all those living and working on the coast of Northern Ireland.

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References 1. McInnes, R., 2008. ‘Art as a Tool in Support

7. European Commission, 2007.

of the Understanding of Coastal Change in

‘Communication on the integrated

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’. The Crown

management of coastal zones’. Brussels.

Estate. ISBN: 978-1-906410-08-7. 8. Department of the Environment, 2006. 2. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2010. ‘Art as

‘An Integrated Coastal Zone Management

a tool in Support of the Understanding of

Strategy for Northern Ireland 2006-2026’.

Coastal Change in East Anglia’. The Crown

Crown Copyright.

Estate, 92 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-10-0. 9. Defra and Environment Agency, 2011. 3. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2011.

’National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk

‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide

Management Strategy for England’. Crown

for England’. The Crown Estate. 90 pages.

Copyright. London.

ISBN: 978-1-906410-19-3. 10. Defra, 2009. ‘A Strategy for Promoting an 4. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2013a. ‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding

Integrated Approach to the Management of Coastal Areas in England’. Crown Copyright.

of coastal change in Wales’. The Crown Estate. 107 pages. ISBN: 978-1-9064-42-1.

11. CLG, 2010. ‘PPS 25 Supplement ‘Development and Coastal Change

5. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2013b.

Practice Guide’. Crown Copyright.

‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Scotland’. The Crown Estate. 97 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-49-0.

12. Cooper, J.A.G. 2011. ‘Progress on Integrated coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Northern Ireland’. Marine Policy. 35. pps. 794-799.

6. European Commission, 2002. ‘Recommendation of the European Parliament and Council Concerning the Implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe’. Brussels.

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Introduction to this report The outstanding natural landscape of Northern Ireland, both inland and on the coast, is attributable to the variety of rock types exposed across the country, which range from the United Kingdom’s earliest rocks from the Mesoproterozoic some 1,600 million years ago through most of the geological periods until recent times. The whole of Northern Ireland was covered by ice sheets, being repeatedly glaciated during the Pleistocene period, and, as a result, the landscape has been heavily affected by the impacts of glaciation. The geology and structural history of Northern Ireland allows the rocks of the coastal zones to be divided into three regions based on their age and geological exposures; these broadly accord with the geographical extent of the counties of Londonderry, Antrim and Down. The coastal zones of Northern Ireland comprise a strip of land and its adjacent shoreline and the marine environment, which may vary in width depending on the natural environment and the management needs. Extensive lengths of the coastal zone are recognised as being of national importance in terms of their landscape and scenic value, as well as being important natural habitats and environments that are enjoyed by residents and visitors for both relaxation and recreation. Along these beautiful coastlines developments illustrate the history of the country and its relationship with the sea for defensive, trading and recreational purposes. Dramatically situated castles such as Dunluce and Carrickfergus, cliff top mansions and coastal and seaside developments of the Victorian and Edwardian eras collectively form an outstanding legacy in terms of Northern Ireland’s heritage. Since the 1980s, across Europe, there has been considerable progress in encouraging more sustainable management of coastal zones and, alongside a better

understanding of the processes of coastal change, research has informed policymaking for the coast. Where parts of the coastline are composed of less resistant rocks, or where the coast is more low-lying, consideration has been given to the impacts of natural hazards and the resulting risks to coastal properties, infrastructure, heritage and the natural environment. Risk management strategies such as shoreline management plans can provide a framework for addressing risks around the coastline arising from erosion by the sea, coastal flooding, and in some locations coastal instability problems. Research undertaken in recent years (Defra, 20101; Defra and Environment Agency, 20112; CLG, 20103) has led to the recognition that climate change and sea level rise will increasingly impact upon the lives of residents and businesses as well as upon heritage and environmental assets. These impacts include those resulting from a possible increase in the frequency and the intensity of storm events. The Northern Ireland Department of the Environment together with the Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum, working with coastal engineers in local authorities and their planning officer colleagues, have sought to address these increasing pressures on the coastal zone through an improved, more co-ordinated approach to coastal management and the management of risks. It is recognised that it would be undesirable and, indeed, unnecessary to defend large parts of the coast, particularly the extensive hard rock frontages. In other locations, where developments are scattered, coastal defence measures may be uneconomic or unsustainable. Around 15% (100 km) of the coastline has been modified for coastal defence purposes (Cooper, 20134). The areas most affected by erosion include the cliffs east of Portrush on the north coast and those near Kilkeel in County Down.

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FIGURE i.8: ‘Blackhead’ at the northern end of Belfast Lough’. A watercolour drawing reproduced as a colour picture postcard by Walter Hayward-Young (known as ‘Jotter’) c.1910.

FIGURE i.9: ‘Garron Tower’, a Victorian mansion located on the Antrim coast between Cushendall and Carnlough. This oil painting was produced by M. E. Thompson in 1853 and shows the coast road running along the foot of the cliff.

Coastal residents and businesses, particularly in vulnerable locations, are becoming increasingly aware of the risks posed by both erosion and flooding by the sea. Over the last two centuries, particularly during the Victorian seaside development boom, some developments took place in more vulnerable, less sustainable locations. Rising sea levels and the impacts of coastal erosion on cliffs, beaches and dunes, over time, have posed increasing levels of risk to both commercial development and residential properties, as well as to important environmental assets and habitats. To help meet these concerns the Government and the Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum have been focusing research on themes such as climate change, coastal erosion and flood risk management. This work will help address the concerns of residential property owners and businesses, who live and work within flood plains or in coastal zones below the level of the five metre contour. Where coastal communities, businesses and infrastructure have developed along the coastline efforts have been made, particularly since the mid-nineteenth century, to protect these assets from the impacts of erosion and sea flooding. Most commonly this has been achieved through the construction of sea walls, groynes and other defence measures and these, in many locations, have provided vital protection for coastal towns, fishing villages and seaside resorts, as well as for key infrastructure such as port installations, coastal roads and railways. Over the last half century, however, it has also been increasingly recognised that coastal defence works can sometimes have adverse impacts on environments downdrift leading to increased coastal erosion or the promotion of instability. In an attempt to develop a more co-ordinated approach to address such issues the Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum was established to provide engineers, planning officers, conservation bodies, and all other stakeholders with an interest in coastal zones, the opportunity to work together on matters of mutual interest and to

provide advice to the government following a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The outstanding importance of the natural open coastline, from both landscape and habitat perspectives, has increased the appreciation of the fact that, where possible, the physical processes of erosion, sediment transport around the coast, and its subsequent deposition, should be allowed to continue uninterrupted and that where coastal defence measures are deemed necessary these can be fulfilled in the most sustainable and environmentally acceptable way by seeking to ‘work with nature’. For example, the use of natural materials such as shingle as a coastal defence measure may prove the most effective and minimise impacts on the environment. If we are to prevent further deterioration of the natural coastline thought must be given to achieving the best possible balance between the human, socio-economic and natural factors along the coast, and to effective joint-working as part of the preparation of coastal planning policy documents (DOE, 20065). The preparation of this guide follows consideration by one of the authors, in 2008, of some important artworks in national and local collections by nineteenth century artists who were interested in portraying coastal topography in a very detailed manner. A review of works by some of Britain’s leading artists led the author to examine the potential value of artworks in terms of supporting coastal risk management and a wider understanding of coastal change and the sustainable management of coastal zones. The Crown Estate and the National Maritime Museum supported an initial study of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight coastlines of southern England through The Crown Estate – Caird Fellowship 2008 (McInnes, 20086); this approach was advanced further by The Crown Estate through its commissioning of two further studies of ‘Art and Coastal Change in East Anglia’ (McInnes & Stubbings, 20107) and ‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide for England’ (McInnes & Stubbings, 20118) and, subsequently,

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‘Art and Coastal Change in Wales’ (McInnes & Benstead, 2013a9) and ‘Art and Coastal Change in Scotland’ (McInnes and Benstead, 2013b10). As part of the dissemination process the very positive feedback received from those interested in coastal management, including coastal residents, encouraged The Crown Estate to commission this further report for the coastline of Northern Ireland (McInnes & Benstead, 201411). The coastline of Northern Ireland has a rich coastal art history extending particularly from the eighteenth century. The works of early landscape painters, either as works of art in their own right, or as illustrations in topographical books, combined with the great interest during the nineteenth century in the emerging science of geology and the recording of natural events, have provided us with a wealth of material to draw upon, and enable us to make comparisons with the present day coastline. Importantly also, the art of drawing was a skill regarded by the Navy as of particular importance for their officers to master. As a result coastal drawings and paintings by naval officers are, often, remarkable for their topographical accuracy. Works of art depicting coastal change and natural events over time also often provide valuable additional information illustrating, for example, progressive coastal development and environmental change. Alongside paintings and drawings, photographs, postcards and literature accounts also illustrate or sometimes describe changes around the coastline, including the landscape, agricultural practices and social change.

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The main aim of this report is, therefore, to highlight the added value of works of art and related media as tools to assist understanding of all aspects of long-term change around the coastline of Northern Ireland. The authors believe that art is currently an under-used resource and it is hoped this report will increase awareness of the rich heritage contained in national and local collections and encourage its use to support sustainable coastal management and the understanding of all aspects of long-term change on the coast of Northern Ireland. The report aims to assist scientists, researchers, local authority staff including coastal engineers, planning officers and environment and countryside managers, as well as non-government organisations and other coastal stakeholders, in three main ways: • By raising the profile of art in Northern Ireland’s national, regional and local collections as an additional resource available to support wise coastal management and aesthetic decision-making; • By assisting in providing a chronology of coastal change since the late eighteenth century; • By providing a practical and accessible tool for users that can support the preparation of coastal risk management plans, landscape assessments and strategies for the protection of heritage all in the context of long-term coastal change.

References 7. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2010. ‘Art as a

1. Defra, 2010. ’Adapting to Coastal Change: Developing a Policy Framework’. Crown

tool in support of the understanding of coastal

Copyright. London.

change in East Anglia’. The Crown Estate, 92 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-10-0.

2. Defra and Environment Agency, 2011. 8. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2011.

‘National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England’. Crown

‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide for

Copyright. London.

England’. Report for The Crown Estate. 90 pps. ISBN: 978-1-906410-19-3.

3. CLG, 2010. Planning Policy Statement 25 9. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2013a. ‘Art as a

Supplement ‘Development and Coastal

tool in support of the understanding of coastal

Change Practice Guide’. Crown Copyright.

change in Wales’. Report for The Crown 4. Cooper, J.A.G. 2013. ‘Ireland’ In Pranzini, E

Estate. 107 pps. ISBN: 978-1-9064-42-1.

and Williams, A. ‘Coastal Erosion and Protection in Europe’. Routledge., pps.209-226. ISBN: 978-1-84971-339.9.

10. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2013b. ‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Scotland’. Report for The Crown

5. Department of the Environment. 2006. ‘An

Estate. 98 pps. ISBN: 978-1-906410-42-1.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Northern Ireland 2006-2026’. Crown Copyright.

11. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2014. ‘Art and Coastal Change in Northern Ireland’. Report for The Crown Estate. 83pps.

6. McInnes, R., 2008. ‘Art as a Tool to Assist

ISBN: 978-1-906410-54-4

Understanding of Coastal Change’. The Crown Estate. ISBN: 978-1-906410-08-7.

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Coastal change in Northern Ireland FIGURE 1.1:

1.1 Geology and geomorphology

‘East prospect of the Giant’s Causeway’, 1740 by Susanna Drury. This view is one of a pair of highly detailed gouaches of this remarkable landmark.

The coastline of Northern Ireland extends for some 650 km from Londonderry in the north-west eastwards and southwards to Carlingford Lough in County Down. Rivers including the Foyle and the Upper and Lower Bann flow to the coast from the hinterland which rises in height to the Sperrin Mountains in the north, the Antrim Plateau behind the north-east coast and the Mourne mountains behind Newcastle to the south (Cooper, 20101). Although comprising a relatively small geographical area Northern Ireland displays a diverse geology exhibiting rocks from nearly all the geological periods dating back 1,600 million years from the Mesoproterozoic to the Palaeogene. The coastal geology has been investigated in detail over the last half-century particularly by the British Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland who have produced both memoirs and detailed maps. The problem of coastal instability and its interpretation and management options have also been reviewed (Carney, 19742; Forster, 19983). The geology of Northern Ireland can be divided into four quadrants (Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, 20044). Of these, three include coastal frontages and broadly relate to the three counties of Londonderry, Antrim and Down; these regions have quite distinct geological characteristics. The NorthWest Quadrant in the Londonderry area is composed of Dalradian rocks, the early Ordovician Tyrone Igneous Complex and the late Ordivician – early Silurian Pomeroy Inlier. The North-East Quadrant includes Palaeogene Basalt lava and lacustrine sedimentary rocks of the Antrim Plateau

whilst the South-East Quadrant is composed of Ordivician and Silurian rocks with younger intrusive complexes (Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, 20044). In the Pleistocene era Northern Ireland experienced repeated glaciations, which produced vast amounts of glacial deposits that cover more than 90% of the landscape. In fact the modern landscape began to evolve after the last ice sheet retreated as recently as 14,000 years ago and sea levels began to stabilise around the present level from about 7,000 years ago (Cooper, 20095). The surface has been modified subsequently by marine, fluvial and aeolian weathering and erosion processes as well as a result of mass movements. The coastline comprises a wide range of geomorphological features including high rugged cliffs, wave cut platforms and unique geological locations such as the Giant’s Causeway to the east of Portrush. The coast is indented by large sea loughs including Lough Foyle, Belfast Lough, Carlingford Lough and the largest, Strangford Lough, which is also the largest inlet in the British Isles with its own coastline of 240km (150 miles).

The History of Coastal Change Both the geomorphology and processes of coastal change in Northern Ireland have been studied by a number of authors in recent years (Carter, 19826, 19917; Smith & Warke, 20018; Cooper, 20101; Cooper, 20139). Coastal erosion and instability problems are evident along the coast with approximately 20% of the Province’s frontage eroding; rising sea levels and less predictable weather patterns are likely to increase the rate of cliff retreat and beach loss.

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FIGURE 1.2: ‘Lough Foyle’ is the estuary of the River Foyle near Derry. This shallow sea lough is internationally designated for its wetland habitats. This midnineteenth century engraving was produced

Landsliding is evident at Garron Point between Red Bay and Carnlough Bay in County Antrim where multiple large-scale rotational slumped blocks of chalk contrast with the black basalt lavas. Rotational landslide failures can also be seen at both White Park Bay and along the coast south of Glenarm (Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, 20044).

from a drawing by H. Gastineau.

FIGURE 1.3: ‘Belfast Lough’ an oil painting by James Glen Wilson, 1851. The Lough lies between Orlock Point and Blackhead and includes a nature reserve within the Belfast Harbour Estate. Such paintings illustrate the shoreline conditions that existed before more extensive port developments took place.

Northern Ireland has a high energy coastal environment on its rocky north coast whilst the east coast is less dynamic. Evidence of erosion and cliff face retreat can be seen along the chalk cliffline east of Portrush, County Antrim whilst stabilisation measures were required in 1997 to protect the Mussenden Temple perched on the cliff edge near Castlerock in County Londonderry. Marine erosion of the glacial sediments in the vicinity of Kilkeel in County Down has been very rapid despite being a relatively low energy environment (McGreal, 197910). The National Trust has highlighted its concerns over coastal change in Northern Ireland in its report ‘Shifting Shores – Living with a Changing Coastline’ (National Trust, 200511) citing Portstewart Strand as one of its top ten coastal change hotspots. The two-mile-long beach is likely to be affected by increased erosion as a combination of rising sea levels and more unsettled weather patterns which can be expected to cause beach lowering and roll-back of the sand dunes. The Trust has also raised concerns about the impact of sea level rise on the Giant’s Causeway, the only World Heritage Site in the Province; by 2080 a significant area of the columnar basalt formations could be under water. Bordering Strangford Lough and Murlough, both in County Down, rare habitats such as tidal mudflats could be inundated by sea level rise of up to one metre by the end of the century. At Murlough Nature Reserve the existing dune frontage could see retreat of as much as 400 metres by 2080. In addition the rate of retreat of the Drumlin coastal cliffs around the Lough has also

been assessed and is a further concern (Greenwood & Orford, 200712; 200813). Risks arising from coastal change in the context of climate change have been considered by the government, the Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum and researchers in recent years (e.g. Arkell et al., 200714). Threats to coastal and flood risk management include:• An increase in flooding and erosion on the coast with resulting impacts on coastal developments, heritage assets and infrastructure and agricultural land. • Threats to inter-tidal habitats including saltmarshes and mudflats. The strategic assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk under climate change (most appropriate on a catchment or coastal cell basis) is identified as an initial adaptation strategy for many of the potential impacts that have been identified. In addition there is likely to be the need for more specific assessments at individual locations, for example the heritage site of Dunluce Castle and the A2 Coast Road as well as the Derry, Co. Londonderry to Coleraine railway line (Arkell et al., 200714). Currently the policy is to seek ways of adapting to these changing conditions taking account of the uncertainties in terms of the rate and scale of change and the potential impacts.

Coastal Management In Northern Ireland the Department of Environment is responsible for leading on Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Its integrated nature, however, means that it does impact on most other government departments and requires their collaboration. The DOE launched its ‘An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Northern Ireland 2006-2026’ in 2006 (DOE, 200615). The Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum (www.CoastalmarineNI.com) was established in 2006 as an independent, non-statutory body made up of a cross-

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An increase in sea flooding and coastal erosion will have impacts on coastal developments, heritage assets, infrastructure and agricultural land, as well as inter-tidal habitats.

section of interests ranging from local government to fisheries, industry, agriculture and environmental bodies; the Forum is hosted at the University of Ulster. Progressing ICZM in Northern Ireland has been assisted by both research (e.g. Cooper, 201116) and financial support from European Union instruments (e.g. Cooper & Cummins, 200917). The Rivers Agency is responsible for maintaining a small extent of designated sea defences to prevent flooding. Local Borough or District Councils have responsibility with respect to coast

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protection; twelve of the twenty-six Councils having coastal frontages. Some Landowners are responsible for maintaining their own coastal frontages for example the National Trust. The DRD Roads Service is responsible for coastal defences that are bounded by a public adopted road; for example, the A2 Antrim Coast Road. Translink is responsible for some stretches of coastal defences including parts of the Belfast to Larne and Londonderry to Coleraine railway lines.

FIGURE 1.4:

References

‘The Town and Castle of Glenarm’ drawn by T. M.

1. Cooper, J.A.G. 2010. ‘Northern Ireland’. In

10. McGreal, L. S., 1979. ‘Marine Erosion of

Baynes in 1830. By the

Bird, E.C.F (ed). ‘Encyclopedia of the World’s

Glacial Sediments from a Low Energy Cliffline

1830s many artists and

Coastal Landforms’. Springer-Verlag Berlin.

Environment near Kilkeel, Northern Ireland’.

publishers were turning

pps. 536-544. ISBN: 978-1-4020-8638-0.

Marine Geology 32, pps. 89-103.

to steel plate engravings as opposed to the earlier

2. Carney, J. N., 1974. ‘A photo-interpretation

11. The National Trust, 2005. ‘Shifting Shores

copper plates. Steel

of mass movement features along the Antrim

– Living with a Changing Coastline’. The

engravings could be

coast of Northern Ireland’. British Geological

National Trust.

produced in much larger

Survey Technical report No. WN/EG/74/13. 12. Greenwood, R. & Orford, J., 2007. ‘Factors

numbers and the harder material allowed a much

3. Forster, A., 1998. ‘The Assessment of Slope

greater level of detail to

Instability for Land Use planning – A Case

Cliffs in a Low Energy Environment –

be obtained.

Study on the North Antrim Coast’. British

Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland’. Journal

Geological Survey Technical Report No.

of Coastal Research 23. 2. pps. 285-297.

controlling the Retreat of Drumlin Coastal

WN/98/8. Keyworth, Nottingham. 13. Greenwood, R. & Orford, J., 2008. ‘Temporal 4. Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, 2004.

Patterns and Processes of Retreat of Drumlin

‘The Geology of Northern Ireland – Our

Coastal Cliffs – Strangford Lough, Northern

Natural Foundation’. (Ed: W.I. Mitchell). Crown

Ireland’. Geomorphology. 94. pps.153-169.

Copyright. ISBN: 0-85272-454-3. 14. Arkell, B., Darch, G. & Entee, P. (Eds.), 2007. 5. Cooper, J.A.C. 2009. ‘The Irish Coastal

‘Preparing for a Changing Climate in Northern

Landscape’. Irish National Coastal Landscape

Ireland’. SNIFFER UKCC13.

Conference. 15. Department of Environment Northern 6. Carter, R. W. G., 1982. ‘Sea Level Changes

Ireland, 2006. ‘An Integrated Coastal Zone

in Northern Ireland’. Proc. of the Geologists’

Management Strategy for Northern Ireland’.

Vol. 93, pps 7-23.

Crown Copyright.

7. Carter, R. W. G., 1991. ‘Shifting Sands:

16. Cooper, A., 2011. ‘Progress in Integrated

A Study of the Coast of Northern Ireland from

Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Northern

Magilligan to Larne’. Countryside and Wildlife

Ireland’. Marine Policy. 35. pps. 794-799.

Research Series No.2. Belfast: HMSO. 17. Cooper, A. & Cummins, V., 2009. ‘Coastal 8. Smith, B. J. & Warke, P. A., 2001. Classic

Research and Policy Integration in North-West

Landforms of the Antrim Coast’. Geographical

Europe’. The COREPOINT project. Marine

Association. Sheffield. 52 pages.

Policy. 33 (6). pps. 869-870.

9. Cooper, J. A. G., 2013. ‘Ireland’. In Pranzini, E and Williams, A. T (Eds.). ‘Coastal Erosion and Protection in Europe’. Earthscan, Routledge. pps 209-226.

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2

24  Marine research report  www.thecrownestate.co.uk

How can historical resources assist in understanding coastal change? FIGURE 2.1:

2.1 Introduction

‘Carrick-A-Rede’ by T. M. Baynes, 1830.

The diverse geological exposures around the Northern Ireland coast, and the physical processes acting upon them, have resulted in the formation of a coastline of enormous variety, scenic beauty and interest. The geological structure and history do, therefore, dictate the present day scenery of our coastal zones. Since their formation geological deposits have been eroded and weathered over millions of years to create the coastal landscape that we can enjoy today. Many factors have led to the shaping of the coastline of Northern Ireland. These include changing sea levels that have influenced the nature and the severity of coastal erosion, a key factor in transforming the coastal landscape. It has been explained that monitoring of coastal change has been limited to a relatively small number of locations and also for only short time spans. This chapter provides some examples of how the use of art and historical images can be applied in practice to support coastal management more widely.

2.2 Examples of the usage of the art record as a tool to support understanding of long-term coastal change Whilst art and science have previously, and especially since the nineteenth century, been divided into two separate and wholly unrelated worlds, today the links between

them seem increasingly apparent and can be seen as complementary rather than competing. Science is generally practised according to four standard rules. First, by obtaining data through observation or measurement; second, patterns are sought, leading thirdly to scientific theory; finally the theory is tested so that the science can be confirmed, rejected or approved. Whilst works of art present a qualitative tool it is true that historically both the disciplines of science and art have raised curiosity about the coastal landscapes and environment. In some respects such links are not new, for Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) combined the two disciplines in a very effective way describing science through artistic images with ‘a picture replacing thousands of words’. Later the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of Artists such as John Everett Millais who visited Northern Ireland, re-appraised the artistic culture of the time and presented images, painted in the field, in a different, more accurate style, which can usually be relied upon as a true and faithful reproduction in line with their ethos. The use of works of art in this way to support understanding of coastal change can be broken down into two distinct categories, namely technical usage and educational usage (in its broadest context); the authors’ findings demonstrate that art is a valuable and under-used resource in both respects. Although limited, there are some examples where art has proved a valuable

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tool alongside other techniques for providing more informed decision-making to assist successful coastal risk management, as well as having wider benefits in terms of achieving successful integrated coastal zone management.

and engravings provided an insight into the changing coastal environments. The project included the publication of non-technical guidance where engravings and paintings helped to explain to stakeholder audiences how coastlines had changed, particularly over the last two centuries.

2.2.1. Technical Usage

Certainly across Europe, and internationally, there are examples of technical papers that have been published relating to physical processes such as landsliding where use has been made of early images particularly paintings and engravings. For example, in 2004, the Standing Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline (SCOPAC), a coastal network in central southern England, published a ‘Nontechnical Guide to Coastal Defence’ containing such images (McInnes, 20042). The SCOPAC guide aimed to provide information on relatively complex topics including coastal evolution, European environmental policy and climate change in a format suitable for the non-specialist.

Historically, engravings and landscape paintings were used as a resource to assist in explaining long-term coastal change within a project, which received financial support from the European Union LIFE Environment Programme entitled ‘Coastal Change, Climate and Instability’ (McInnes et al., 20001). In this LIFE project a theme of the work assessed how archaeological or palaeo-environmental evidence could assist understanding of long-term coastal change. Various evidence was gathered in this respect including a range of illustrations from study areas within the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, where paintings

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FIGURE 2.2 A panoramic view of the coastal zone and Ballintoy Church by Andrew Nicholl c.1830s.

To assist this process, again, a number of paintings and engravings were used to good effect. An updated version retitled ‘A Non-Technical Guide to Coastal Risk Management’ was published in April 2009 (McInnes, 20093). A further publication on ‘Cliff Instability and Erosion Management in Great Britain – Good Practice Guide’ promoted the research sponsored by The Crown Estate in this field (McInnes & Moore, 20114). As well as raising interest and awareness in respect of coastal risk management issues, these guides were also found to be of value to planners and those involved with management of the landscape, for example environmental officers preparing ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ management plans, on account of the contrast between the landscapes and environments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and those of the present day. Between 2003 and 2006 the Isle of Wight Centre for the Coastal Environment led a trans-national coastal research project, called ‘Response’ (Responding to the Risks from Climate Change on the Coast), (McInnes et al., 20065). The study areas for the Response project comprised coastal frontages in the United Kingdom (central southern England and the north-east coast of England), the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of France, and the Adriatic coast of Italy. Throughout this report usage was made of historical images to illustrate the physical processes of erosion and coastal instability over time. Internationally, further related research has included an assessment of the value of the works by the Italian artists Canaletto and Belloto in understanding changing water levels in the city of Venice (Camuffo et al., 20056), whilst the detailed geological paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite artist, John Brett, have allowed studies and comparisons to be made of Alpine glaciers and landscapes including glacial retreat (Drahos, 20097). A more recent study has examined nineteenth century depictions of important geological sites in the USA

(Drahos, 20128). In a related science extensive use of paintings and engravings was made to plot the history of river engineering works in Switzerland (Minor et al., 20049). Sponsorship by The Crown Estate since 2008 has allowed the concept of art as a tool to support understanding of coastal change to be developed through a series of publications. First, two regional studies of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight coastlines (McInnes, 200810) and of East Anglia (McInnes & Stubbings, 201011) and then three national studies: ‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide for England’ (McInnes & Stubbings, 201112) – the latter considered not just paintings but a broad range of historical images including photographs, sea charts and maps and postcards, as well as literature accounts – and subsequently ‘Art as a tool in the understanding of coastal change in Wales’ (McInnes & Benstead, 201313) and ‘Art as a tool in the understanding of coastal change in Scotland’ (McInnes and Benstead, 201314). The application of art and other images to assist coastal management in Northern Ireland could prove to be of considerable benefit by providing technical information in support of our understanding of longterm coastal change. This is all the more important on account of the speeding up of coastal change as a result of climate change, but also in assisting awarenessraising with respect to coastal landscapes and a wider aesthetic appreciation by engineers, planners and others working in coastal zones. Furthermore, historical artworks form images of the coast that local residents are often familiar with, and which they trust. Art does, therefore, form a valuable tool when engaging with coastal communities on subjects such as the need to adapt to changing conditions on the coast.

2.2.2. The use of art in education Education, in its broadest sense, has used historical images contained in national and

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Art as a tool in support of the understanding of

coastal change in Wales

Marine research report Professor Robin McInnes Sarah Benstead

www.thecrownestate.co.uk

Art as a tool in support of the understanding of

Art as a tool in support of the understanding of

coastal change in Scotland

coastal change in Northern Ireland

Marine research report Professor Robin McInnes Sarah Benstead

Marine research report Professor Robin McInnes Sarah Benstead

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Marine research report

1

FIGURE 2.3 (ABOVE LEFT): ‘Pegwell Bay, Kent – recollections of October 5th 1858’ by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Dyce. This painting in Tate Britain provided the inspiration for a sequence of art and coastal change studies sponsored by The Crown Estate FIGURE 2.4 (BELOW LEFT)

local collections for a number of years, particularly in publications, information packs and local guides. Nationally, works of art have been used to illustrate books and television programmes including, for example, the television series ‘A Picture of Britain’ (Dimbleby, 200515), and ‘Britain’s Favourite View’ (McDonald, 200716). Past television series on Victorian artists and photographers have also made full use of images to improve understanding. Along the south coast of England some good examples of this were provided by Dorset County Council in the preparation of their ‘Jurassic Coast Devon and Dorset World Heritage Site application’ (Badman, 200017) which included lithographs of landsliding and coastal processes by Daniel Dunster, William Buckland and others. Education, in its broadest sense, has used coastal landscape art contained in national and local collections for many years to illustrate publications, coastal information packs and signboards and local guides in order to describe the history of coastal change and to make the whole subject more interesting and relevant to those wishing to learn more about the British coast. Increasingly, art has been used as subject matter for fascinating television programmes. For example BBC’s ‘Coast’ television documentary series (Stafford, Barker, Lyons, Crane, et al., 2005-201318) continues to combine most effectively the subjects of history, geography, art and

science. Other programmes or series have explored the development of artistic circles including the Pre-Raphaelites (McDowell, Murch & Lloyd Webber, 201119). Lord Lloyd Webber described the development and works by the Brotherhood, including their landscape paintings, a subject revisited in a further series ‘The Pre-Raphaelites’ (Hutton & Moyle, 201320). In the BBC television series ‘Fake or Fortune’ the presenters (Mould et al., 201121) sought to authenticate artworks through forensic investigations and by seeking to identify their locations, which included coastal scenes. In 2013 the BBC’s ‘The Culture Show’ highlighted one of the most significant achievements in terms of art promotion and education in recent years. ‘Your Paintings: A Culture Show Special’ (Lee, Homan, Sooke & Grosvenor, 201322) described the completion of the Public Catalogue Foundation’s ambitious project to photograph, catalogue and place on-line the United Kingdom’s entire collection of oil paintings. The purpose of this new publication for Northern Ireland is, therefore, to assist those interested in a broad range of coastal issues by providing a list of artists, artworks and references, which through their quality can allow useful comparisons to be made with the present day. A methodology for preparing a shortlist of artists and their works is described in the following chapter.

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FIGURE 2.5:

References

‘Carrickfergus Castle and Belfast Lough’ by J.H Burgess. Mid 19thc

1. McInnes, R., Tomalin, D. & Jakeways, J.,

11. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2010. ‘Art as a

2000. ‘Coastal Change, Climate and

tool in support of the understanding of coastal

Instability’. Final report of the EU LIFE

change in East Anglia’. The Crown Estate.

Environment project. Isle of Wight Centre

92 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-10-0.

for the Coastal Environment. Ventnor. 12. McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2011. 2. McInnes, R., 2004. ‘A Non-Technical

‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide for

Guide to Coastal Defence’. Report for

England’. The Crown Estate. 91 pages.

SCOPAC. Ventnor.

ISBN: 978-1-906410-19-3.

3. McInnes, R., 2009. ‘A Non-Technical

13. McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2013. ‘Art

Guide to Coastal Risk Management’.

as a tool in support of the understanding of

Report for SCOPAC.

coastal change in Wales’. The Crown Estate. 107 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-42-1.

4. McInnes, R. G. & Moore, R., 2011. ‘Cliff Instability and Erosion Management in Great Britain’. Halcrow. Birmingham.

14. McInnes, R.G and Benstead, S. 2013. ‘Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change in Scotland’. The Crown

5. McInnes, R., Jakeways, J. & Fairbank, H.,

Estate. 97 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-49-0

2006. ‘Response – Responding to the Risks from Climate Change on the Coast’. Final

15. Dimbleby, D., 2005. ‘A Picture of Britain’.

report of the EU LIFE Environment project. Isle

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. London.

of Wight Centre for the Coastal Environment. Ventnor.

16. McDonald. Sir T., 2007. ‘Britain’s Favourite View’. Cassell Illustrated. London.

6. Camuffo, D., Pagain, E. & Sturaro, G., 2005. ‘The Extraction of Venetian Sea-level Change

17. Badman, T., 2000. ‘Nomination of the

from Paintings by Canaletto and Bellotto’.

Dorset and East Devon Coast for Inclusion

In Fletcher, C. & Spencer, T. (Eds.). Flooding

on the World Heritage List’. Dorset Coastal

and Environmental challenges for Venice

Forum. Dorchester.

and its Lagoon. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Pps 129-140.

18. Stafford, D., Barker, J., Lyons, W. & Crane, N., 2005-2013. ‘Coast’. BBC Two Television.

7. Drahos, A., 2009. ‘Brett’s Boulders’.

www.bbc.co.uk/coast.

Geoscientist. Vol. 19.3. 19. McDowell, L., Murch, S., & Lloyd Webber, A., 8. Drahos, A., 2012. ‘The Art of the Sublime – Geology and 19th century Landscape

2011. ‘Perspectives: A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites’. Blakewell Productions.

Paintings’. The Geoscientist. Volume 22. No 6. July 2012.

20. Hutton, A. & Moyle, F., 2013. ‘The Pre-Raphaelites’. BBC Four Television.

9. Minor, H-E. & Hager, W. H. (Eds.), 2004. ‘River Engineering in Switzerland’. Society for the art of civil engineering. Zurich. 10. McInnes, R., 2008. ‘Art as a tool to

21. Mould, P., Bruce, F and Grosvenor, B,. 2011. ‘Fake or Fortune’. BBC Television. 22. Lee,J., Homan,K., Sooke, A and Grosvenor, B,.

assist understanding of coastal change

2013. ‘Your Paintings: A BBC Culture Show

in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’. The

Special’. BBC Two Television.

Crown Estate. ISBN: 978-1-906410-08-7.

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3

Validating the accuracy of historical artworks of the coast of Northern Ireland 3.1 Introduction The availability of high quality data and a thorough understanding of the physical processes at work on the coast, as well as the effects of these processes in terms of coastal change, are necessities for coastal engineers in order to understand and manage their frontages. Coastal monitoring provides an invaluable data source for scientists and engineers as well as providing information to assist the design of coastal defence measures, which can, as a result, be commissioned with greater confidence in the efficiency of the design. Future requirements for coastal defence works can be predicted more accurately using monitoring data, which may change the risk management philosophy from a reactive to a more pro-active one.

3.2 Taking advantage of ‘the wisdom of hindsight’ and its contribution to our understanding of longterm coastal change In previous chapters it has been explained why the sustainable management of coastal zones will only be achieved effectively if a thorough understanding exists of coastal evolution and natural processes; particularly in the context of the predicted impacts of climate change and sea level rise. Mistakes in the past, in terms of coastal planning and management, have been made because of a lack of baseline information. Alongside the technical tools available for coastal monitoring knowledge gaps can be filled partially by the use of archaeological or palaeo-environmental evidence as well as

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art, photographs, maps and literature accounts which allow recognition of the nature, scale and rate of physical coastal change to be considered and evaluated over a much longer time-frame. A project undertaken through the European Union LIFE (L’Instrument Financier de L’Environnement) Environment programme entitled ‘Coastal change, climate and instability’ (McInnes et al., 20001) revealed a rich, well-preserved heritage and palaeoenvironmental archive within Europe’s coastal and intertidal zones, which can be interrogated to inform coastal risk management and coastal planning more widely. In fact, the coastal zones and estuary mouths of Europe contain a rich archaeological heritage, which, if examined appropriately, can provide additional advice on coastal evolution and can help to explain responses to past climatic change. Experiences from the past can, therefore, support our understanding of the possible impacts of coastal change in the future. Northern Ireland’s coastal oil paintings, watercolour drawings, prints, photographs and postcards of suitable quality and detail, offer immediate advantages as tools for coastal managers by providing a visual comparison between the historical and present conditions. They not only allow comparison of physical changes over the centuries through a comparative assessment of coastal erosion, landslip, beach and shoreline alteration but also variations in the coastal environment reflecting changes in land management practice as well as, from a social perspective, the chronology of coastal development. An evaluation of archived

images and literature accounts can also assist countryside managers and ecologists in preparing coastal landscape assessments as well as informing planning officers involved in both spatial planning and development control; for example, in meeting the new requirement to identify and designate ‘Coastal change management areas’ (CLG, 20102). The more frequent use of art as a resource in these areas would also be beneficial in encouraging a wider aesthetic appreciation of our coastal zones by all those involved in integrated coastal zone management – engineers, planners and politicians.

3.3 The development of a methodology for preparing a list of Northern Irish artists and their works In order to assess the relative importance of works of art in terms of their value in informing us of long-term coastal change it was necessary, first, to develop a methodology for categorising the artists and their works in this respect; this was achieved through the design of a ranking system (see paragraph 3.4 below). Having developed a ranking system and established a comprehensive list of those artists that painted the coast, it has been possible to compile a shortlist of key artists whose works are likely to prove most helpful in terms of supporting coastal management in Northern Ireland. The purpose of this Northern Ireland study has been to identify which artists illustrated the coastline with the greatest

topographical accuracy between 1770 and 1940 and thereby establish which of those artists and their works make the most significant contribution to our understanding of long-term coastal change. Exhibits and archived images contained in national and local collections have been researched and discussions held with the relevant experts alongside internet searches and the examination of a large number of dictionaries, reference books and other art sources. In addition, the landscape is richly depicted in finely illustrated books, many of which contain aquatints, engravings, lithographs and other images which have also contributed, in an important way, to this study; a list of some of the most relevant and helpful publications in this respect can be found in Chapter Four and in Appendix 2. Having established the number of working artists and the volume of paintings, watercolours or prints they produced, it was necessary to devise a system to assess the value of the artistic works in terms of assisting our understanding of coastal change. The process of developing a ranking system is described in the following section.

3.4 The development of a ranking system for assessing the relative value of Northern Ireland artistic works in assisting understanding of long-term coastal change As part of research undertaken for earlier studies sponsored by The Crown Estate (McInnes, 20083; McInnes & Stubbings, 20104, 20115), a methodology was

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FIGURE 3.1 ‘Dunluce Castle’. A watercolour by J Nixon (late 18th C)

developed, and subsequently refined (McInnes & Benstead, 20136) which allowed comparison of the works of various artists and engravers in order to provide a shortlist of works that could form a readily available resource for users interested in supplementing their knowledge of coastal change aided by art. The earlier research identified a number of examples of ranking systems that have been developed to assess the criteria that can contribute towards assessments of the quality of the natural landscape, of beaches and the value of other tools, for example, archaeology in terms of assessing coastal and environmental change (Ergin et al., 20067; Engstrom, 20068; McInnes et al., 20001). In the opinion of the authors there are close parallels between the previous use of archaeology as a tool, and art, in respect of the important contribution they can make towards understanding our coasts.

FIGURE 3.2 ‘Kinbane Castle’, Irish School (late 18th C)

A key task of the European Union LIFE Environment Programme (L’Instrument Financier de L’Environnement) (McInnes et al., 20001) was to identify and rank the selected archaeological sites of potential value to the study of coastal change. Through this trans-national study a ranking system was developed, which allowed useful comparison with the aims of this study.

3.5 Ranking criteria for Northern Ireland’s coastal artists and their works Following a similar approach to the LIFE study, described above, parameters for ranking the works of artists were developed to suit the needs of the previous Crown Estate studies. These have been reviewed in the context of Northern Ireland’s artworks, examined, and the ranking system has been deemed suitable with minor modifications. Four criteria have been identified against which artistic works have been scored as follows:

3.5.1

Accuracy of artistic style

Varying artistic styles contribute, to a lesser or greater degree, in terms of their portrayal of the coastal landscape and environment. Four style sub-categories have been identified, namely: Caricaturist/Genre works, Picturesque Landscapes, Marine/Shipping subjects and Topographical/Beach and Coastal Scenery. The Caricaturist/Genre works include those of artists such as Nixon (Figure 3.1, left) and, later, genre artists whose artistic interest lay more in the human and social subject matter rather than the topography, which was essentially secondary in their particular works. Some interesting historical features may be found in this style of art but rarely, in the experience of the authors, is there sufficient detail or accuracy to make any significant contribution towards the objectives of this study. Taking account of this, a score of 1 point out of 4 would be awarded to an artist in this category. The second category relates to the Picturesque style favoured by those artists and illustrators who were producing works in the manner of the Italian landscapes popularised by those taking the Grand Tour (e.g. Figure 3.2, left: ‘Kinbane Castle’, Irish School). Often the Picturesque views, such as those promoted by William Gilpin, Thomas Walmesley and others comprised aesthetically pleasing but sometimes exaggerated or adjusted landscapes with hillsides and cliffs appearing more mountainous; the desire being to create the local scenery in the manner of a classical landscape. Whilst the Picturesque style is less concerned with topographic accuracy, it can provide at least some indicators of coastal conditions at that time, which can be made use of by the student of coastal research. The proximity of development to the coast, the nature of the coastal topography, and the presence of watercourses and other features, can inform coastal study in a broad sense. For this reason, the Picturesque works score 2 out of a maximum of 4 points.

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FIGURE 3.3 (TOP):

FIGURE 3.4 (BOTTOM):

‘Belfast Lough’ – J. G. Wilson, 1851.

‘Portrush’ by J. Carey

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FIGURE 3.5 (TOP):

FIGURE 3.6 (BOTTOM):

The Giant’s Eye’ by Andrew Nicholl

‘Ballycastle’, a drawing by Hugh Thomson

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FIGURE 3.7 (TOP LEFT): ‘Londonderry’. A copperplate engraving from a drawing by Paul Sandby, 1793

FIGURE 3.8

Marine and shipping subjects can form a significant component in terms of coastal art (Figure 3.3). Many fishing and other shipping scenes include the coastal scenery as a backdrop. Whilst those paintings which are set further away from the coast are less interesting, some works actually provide a detailed topographical background. Taking account of the contribution of these paintings, a ranking of three points is provided for this category. The fourth, and by far the largest category, comprises Topographical or Coastal Scenery Paintings, drawings and prints. This is a rich resource and most of the Northern Ireland coast is well illustrated in this respect (see Figures 3.4-3.6). In fact there is great interest in the coastal towns and fishing villages located both on the open coast as well as on the tidal creeks and harbours. There are, therefore, many works in this category that provide indicators of coastal conditions at the time they were painted and, therefore, such works are awarded four points out of a maximum score of four.

(BOTTOM LEFT): Carrickfergus Castle’. An oil painting from 1670

3.5.2

Most advantageous medium

The second scoring category relates to the most advantageous medium for illustrating coastal change. This section comprises four categories, namely, first, Copper Plate Engravings, second Oil paintings, thirdly Aquatints/Steel engraving and Lithographs, and, finally Watercolour Drawings. The early copper plate engravings, such as Figure 3.7 were not generally suitable for recording fine detail and so they are allocated a score of one point. Oil paintings (e.g. Figure 3.8) are considered to be rather more valuable as they generally provide a greater level of detail. As a result, oil paintings are ranked with two points out of a maximum score of four points. Steel Engravings, Lithographs and Aquatints were published individually or as

sets, others were contained in topographical books in the Pre-Victorian period and throughout the nineteenth century. The Northern Ireland coast benefits from a very wide array of such works (e.g. Figure 3.9). In view of this rich resource three points out of a maximum of four are awarded for this category. The highest scoring category with four points is for Watercolour Drawings. The Northern Ireland coast benefits also from an extensive resource of fine detailed drawings which provide detailed information in terms of cliff and slope geomorphology, beach levels and profiles and coastal environment conditions, as well as the history of coastal development (e.g. Figures 3.10 and 3.15).

3.5.3 The value of the subject matter The third scoring category is the value of subject matter in assisting our understanding of coastal change. This category is of prime importance and, therefore, has been awarded a weighting factor of x2. There are three categories as follows: General coastal views which contribute to an overall appreciation of the coastal geomorphology and landscape character (e.g. Figure 3.11) score one point. Works providing a general view of the beach, cliff and hinterland including some appreciation of beach slope and cliff detail, as well as information on land usage (e.g. Figure 3.12) and environmental conditions score 2 points. The highest scoring category provides a detailed appreciation of shoreline levels, beach profiles, cliff geology, vegetation and coastal development score 3 points (e.g. Figures 3.13 and 3.15). As a result, in this category a maximum of 6 points can be scored taking account of the weighting factor.

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FIGURE 3.9 (TOP):

FIGURE 3.10 (BOTTOM):

‘Ross-Trevor’ by William

‘A watercolour of the River Bann, Barmouth’ by William

Henry Bartlett, c.1838

Canning shows the nature of the dune coastline at this location

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FIGURE 3.11 (TOP):

FIGURE 3.12 (BOTTOM):

‘‘Garron Point’ by Andrew Nicholl

‘Murlough Bay’ by B. C. Watkins, 1870

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FIGURE 3.13 (TOP):

FIGURE 3.14 (BOTTOM):

‘The Giant’s Causeway’ by Andrew Nicholl. An

‘The Giant’s Causeway’ by John Nixon. An example of a work from the early

example of a work from within the early time

time period (1770-1840).

period (1770-1840)

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FIGURE 3.15: This watercolour of ‘Portrush Beach’ by Geoffrey Bevington, 1870, provides information on the extent of the beach at the time, as well as depicting the backshore and cliffs and the coastal developments

3.5.4. Value of the time period

points are awarded in this category for the time period 1880-1940.

The fourth category represents the value of the time period of the artist. Three time periods have been identified as 1770-1840 (scores 1 point); 1840-1880 (scores three points) and, finally, 1880-1940 (scores four points). The rationale behind these scores is that the early works are of less interest than the Victorian landscapes contained in the second category, which illustrate the coastline immediately before the start of and through the Victorian seaside development period. Whilst there may be some information that can be gained from works of the earlier period in terms of the undeveloped coast, it is believed that the works covering the period 1840-1880, and even more so from 1880-1940, where major coastal development and coastal change is taking place, are of greater significance. As a result, a maximum of four

3.6 Summary of ranking of paintings, watercolours and prints Consideration was given to a further ranking relating to the geographical coverage of the artists, in other words whether the artists painted the whole of the coast of Northern Ireland or just part of it. However, having given the issue further consideration it was recognised that some artists might only paint in a restricted locality but their works could be extremely valuable and, therefore, it was perhaps inappropriate to consider the question of coverage. Furthermore, some artists produced only one or two works, whilst others were very prolific. In summary the ranking comprises only the following categories:

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FIGURE 3.16: This photograph shows the

1. Accuracy of artistic style (maximum 4 points) 1.1

Caricaturist/Genre subjects

1 point

be compared with artworks

1.2

Picturesque landscapes

2 points

from the period. However,

1.3

Marine/Shipping subjects

3 points

artworks continued to

1.4

Topographical/beach and coastal scenery

4 points

harbour at Ballintoy and can

provide the only colour images of the coast until the early twentieth century.

2. Most advantageous medium for illustrating coastal change (maximum 6 points) 2.1

Copper plate engravings

1 point

2.2

Oil paintings

2 points

2.3

Steel plate engravings/Aquatints/Lithographs

3 points

2.4

Watercolour drawings

4 points

3. Value of the subject matter in supporting understanding of long-term coastal change (weighting x2 and maximum score of 6 points)

FIGURE 3.17: A postcard of the

3.1 General coastal views which assist overall appreciation of the coastal geomorphology and landscape character of the coastal zone

1 point

3.2 General view of the beach, cliff, backshore and hinterland including some appreciation of beach profile, cliff geology and structure

2 points

3.3 Detailed appreciation of shoreline position, beach profile, geology, geomorphology, coastal environment and coastal defences

3 points

Giant’s Causeway from a watercolour, c.1900

4. Value of the time period (maximum of 4 points) 4.1

1770-1840 (early)

1 point

4.2

1840-1880 (Victorian coastal development period)

3 points

4.3

1880-1940 (Victorian/Edwardian coastal development period)

4 points

Compiling the scores for ranking artists and their works 1.

Accuracy of artistic style

Maximum 4 points

2.

Most advantageous medium

Maximum 4 points

3.

Value of subject matter

Maximum 6 points

4.

Value of the time period

Maximum 4 points

Total maximum score

18 points

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FIGURE 3.18 (TOP LEFT)

Photographs

One of many illustrated topographical books written to assist early travellers FIGURE 3.19 (TOP RIGHT) ‘Ireland’ published by A&C Black (1905 and 1916) included colour plates of Irish landscapes by Alfred Heaton Cooper and F. S. Walker

Unlike paintings, watercolour drawings, and prints, photography results in an exact depiction of the coastline. As a result a validation process for photographs to confirm their accuracy is not required. With the first coastal photographs appearing in the 1850s they were, thereafter, available alongside artworks, offering interesting comparisons and later succeeding them as the most popular illustration medium. However, paintings, watercolours and many prints continued to offer the added value of colour over black and white photography for several more decades.

Postcards In 1894 British publishers were granted permission by the Royal Mail to manufacture and distribute postcards, which could be sent through the post. Early postcards often included landscapes and coastal resort views together with the seaside. Some postcards consisted of black and white photographs whilst others were coloured. Later publishers commissioned artists to paint coastal scenes in watercolour, which were produced as colour cards or to illustrate books. The accuracy of these illustrations can be ranked in the same way as paintings, drawings and prints.

FIGURE 3.20:

Historical literature accounts

‘Map of Ireland and its provinces’ (detail) by Herman Moll, 1728

The Northern Ireland coastline has been well described in literature accounts over the centuries. The exploration of the landscape in the late eighteenth century by artists and writers searching for ‘Picturesque’ scenery, together with the emerging interest in the natural and earth sciences in the nineteenth century resulted in many more publications (e.g. Figure 3.18). Natural coastal processes and disasters such as coastal erosion, landslips and flooding were also frequently described.

published. They were often illustrated with watercolours or pen and ink drawings; for example A. & C. Black’s ‘Ireland’ by Frank Mathew (Figure 3.19).

Maps and Sea Charts Early maps of the British Isles, such as those by Speed and Blaeu from the seventeenth century, cannot be relied upon in terms of providing an accurate record of coastal positions at the time. Despite this, often by virtue of their simplicity, they can assist understanding of the topography, river systems and development patterns of the area concerned. Samuel Pepys, First Secretary to the Admiralty in 1673, persuaded Charles II in 1681 to appoint Captain Greenville Collins, Hydrographer to the King, to carry out the first real survey of Britain’s harbours and coasts. During the eighteenth century, on account of the number of shipwrecks, under the direction of Sir Francis Beaford, a grid survey of the British Isles was undertaken, which charted the British coast. The preparation of accurate maps was encouraged, in 1759, by the newly established Society of Arts, which offered, in England, an annual award for an accurate survey of any English county. In 1787 John Cary published smaller county atlases, which were important as the coastline and seaside became more developed and popular. In 1801 the private map publishers received competition from the Ordnance Survey but for the first fifty years of its life triangulation was the key task. The first One Inch OS map was published in 1853. Throughout the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries maps were nearly always included in topographical publications; some of these were very fine and beautifully decorated with engravings.

During the early twentieth century a large number of colour plate books were

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FIGURE 3.21 (ABOVE): ‘Londonderry’. A steel engraving from a drawing by T. M. Baynes, mid-nineteenth century. FIGURE 3.22 (LEFT): ‘Fairhead’, a further steel plate book illustration

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Table 3.1: Ranking of a shortlist of Artists who depict the Coastal Scenery of Northern Ireland

Artist Name

Accuracy

Most Advantageous Medium

Value of Subject Matter

Time Period

Total

1.

G. Bevington

4

4

4

3

15

2.

S. Drury

4

4

6

1

15

3.

A. Nicholl

4

4

4

3

15

4.

C. Stanfield

4

2

6

3

15

5.

M.E Thompson

4

2

6

3

15

6.

B.C Watkins

4

2

6

3

15

7.

F. McKelvey

4

2

4

4

14

8.

H Thomson

4

4

2

4

14

9.

W. H. Bartlett

4

3

4

3

14

10. J.H Burgess

4

3

4

3

14

11. H. Gastineau

4

3

4

3

14

12. T.M Baynes

4

4

4

1

13

13. W. Canning

4

4

2

3

13

14. J. Carey

4

4

2

3

13

15. J. Sumner

3

2

4

4

13

16. H. Wallis

4

3

4

1

12

17. J. G. Wilson

3

2

4

3

12

The list above comprises the seventeen highest ranking artists from a review of a shortlist of 36 artists from 130 artists who painted Northern Ireland coastal scenery. The art ranking system that has been described in this chapter provides a methodology for identifying those artists and their works that depicted the coastline of Northern Ireland most accurately. The artworks that were assessed and ranked comprised oil paintings, watercolour drawings and prints including those found in the rich resource of topographical books published for the Province, and for Ireland more widely, from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.

Following an initial screening of the Northern Ireland coastal artworks of sixty-five artists and illustrators, thirty-six of those artists (see Appendix 1) were ranked using the system described in this chapter; the highest ranking seventeen of these artists are listed in Table 3.1 (above). The output of these artists suggests that there are approximately one hundred and fifty artworks in various media that can usefully contribute to understanding of long-term coastal change. A detailed description of the works of topographical artists from Northern Ireland, as well as visiting artists, is provided in the following chapter.

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FIGURE 3.23:

References

A finely executed steel engraving of ‘Dunluce

1 McInnes, R., Tomalin, D. & Jakeways, J.,

5 McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2011.

Castle’, County Antrim,

2000. ‘Coastal Change, Climate and

‘A Coastal Historical Resources Guide

taken from a drawing by

Instability’. Final report of the EU LIFE

for England’. The Crown Estate. 91 pages.

T. M. Baynes

Environment project. IW Centre for the

ISBN: 978-1-906410-19-3.

Coastal Environment. Ventnor, Isle of Wight. 6 McInnes, R. & Benstead, S., 2012. ‘Art as a 2 CLG, 2010. ‘PPS 25 Supplement:

tool in support of the understanding of coastal

Development and Coastal Change Practice

Change in Wales’. Report for The Crown

Guide’. Crown Copyright.

Estate. 107 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-42-1.

3 McInnes, R., 2008. ‘Art as a Tool to Assist

7 Ergin, A., Williams, A. T. & Micallaf, A.,

Understanding of Coastal Change’. The

2006. ‘Coastal Scenery: Appreciation and

Crown Estate. ISBN: 978-1-906410-08-7.

Evaluation’. Journal of Coastal Research. Vol. 22, pps. 958-964.

4 McInnes, R. & Stubbings, H., 2010. ‘Art as a Tool in Support of the Understanding of

8 Engstrom, W. N., 2006. ‘Nineteenth

Coastal Change in East Anglia’. The Crown

Century Geomorphology of Southern

Estate 91 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-10-0.

California’. Journal of Coastal Research. Vol. 22 pps. 847-861.

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4

A description of the coastal art of Northern Ireland 1770-1940 The art history of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been described or listed comprehensively by a number of eminent authors (Hardie, 19661; Mallalieu, 19762; Wood, 19953; Crookshank & the Knight of Glin, 19944, 20025). Through its long history wars, occupation and poverty restricted the development of the arts until, in the eighteenth century, wealthy families started to request artists to produce landscapes of their country estates to hang alongside their family portraits. As in England and elsewhere on the continent, Irish artists had taken note of the landscape paintings that were being produced by Dutch and Flemish artists and whilst a number of artists from Ireland went abroad to paint classical landscapes, particularly on account of the lack of patronage from the aristocracy, other English artists crossed the Irish Sea and started to draw and paint the picturesque scenery of the north coast and more widely across Ireland. Many of the early illustrations of the coastal scenery of Northern Ireland appeared in topographical books from the second half of the eighteenth century onwards. However, it was the promotion of the ‘Picturesque’ style, which evolved partly as a reaction against the eighteenth century trend of ‘Neo-classicism’ (emphasising formality, proportion and order) which led to a change in artistic styles. On the Grand Tour, which was so fashionable at the time, gentry had the opportunity to see the works of artists such as Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin, and the great sights of Italy and Greece. Later, however, particularly between 1793 and 1815, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars curtailed travel

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throughout the continent. This situation led to an increased search and interest in the picturesque landscapes of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, encouraged by William Gilpin, John Nixon, and others, whose travels to and publications from some of the more remote parts of the country, including the coastline of Northern Ireland, brought the aesthetic qualities of the landscape to the attention of a wider public. An important Irish influence on the whole way of thinking about the landscape was Edmund Burke, who wrote his famous essay on ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’ (Burke, 17576). Burke wrote this work while he was a student in Ireland and his thinking influenced the important Irish landscape painter George Barret (1728/32-1784). Wealthy gentry, with time on their hands, who, previously, might have been exploring continental Europe, took a renewed interest in the landscape of Northern Ireland encouraged perhaps after reading some of the early topographical accounts and the writings of Burke. At the time artists were less concerned about the topographical accuracy of the scene than with capturing the atmosphere of the ‘Picturesque landscape’. In terms of early paintings and drawings of the Northern Ireland coast, these were still few and far between in the eighteenth century. William Ashford (1746-1824) was an important landscape painter producing views in the County of Antrim, whilst a pair of very striking landscapes were painted by an amateur artist, Susanna Drury (fl. 1733-1770) who spent a considerable period of time drawing the Giant’s Causeway on the Antrim coast,

from both the easterly and westerly perspectives. Her works illustrated in a very precise manner the columnar basalt formations found at this site, and did much to encourage greater interest in the geology and scenery of Northern Ireland’s coast, which was subsequently illustrated by numerous authors and travellers. Another artist who painted the Causeway was Thomas Robinson (c.1770-1810). A pupil of George Romney, he lived in Lisburn, County Antrim, before moving to Belfast. In 1809 Robinson was appointed President of the Society of Arts where he exhibited his large oil painting of ‘The Giant’s Causeway’. The quality of the Northern Ireland coastal scenery was highlighted by a succession of authors and artists whose works brought its dramatic beauty to a much wider audience. These publications and illustrations promoted the concept of the ‘Picturesque’ with caricaturist artists such as J Nixon (c.1750-1818) reaching Northern Ireland whilst working for Francis Grose on his publication ‘Antiquities of Ireland’ (Grose, 17917). There was a considerable concentration of artists and their patrons in Dublin where ‘new art societies formed and re-formed themselves with bewildering monotony; for instance, the Society of Artists of Ireland, founded in 1800, divided in 1812 into the Irish Society of Artists and the Society of Artists of the City of Dublin, later to amalgamate in 1814 into the Hibernian Society of Artists, only to disagree and divide in 1815 into the Artists of Ireland and the Hibernian Society’ (Crookshank & the Knight of Glin, 20025).

Whilst perhaps there were no great artists from Northern Ireland in the manner of Turner, Girtin, or Bonington, there were a number of artists from Northern Ireland and Ireland who produced high quality landscapes in watercolour and oils; although these were comparatively rare until the nineteenth century. Henry Brocas (1762-1837) was able to produce highly finished watercolour drawings such as his view of ‘Carlingford Castle’ (just south of the border) in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. A second artist of considerable importance in terms of depiction of the coastline of Northern Ireland, was Andrew Nicholl (1804-1866), who developed an interest in art from an early age and later became the founder member of the Belfast Association of Artists. Around 1828 he had been engaged in painting scenes of the Antrim coast in watercolour in his typical early, slightly naive manner, and in 1829 the Northern Whig noted, apropos the art of watercolour drawing “... perhaps there cannot be found a more favourable specimen of this branch of the fine arts, than the drawings of the scenery of the county of Antrim, which are now before us, executed by a very young but undoubtedly an artist of great promise – Mr Andrew Nicholl of Belfast...” (Adams, Irish Arts Review, 19848). Nicholl increased his expertise and his understanding of art whilst copying pictures in the Dulwich College Art Gallery, and published his first aquatint of Dunluce Castle in 1830. After undertaking a commission for the celebrated art publisher Rudolph Ackermann, he returned to Ireland to produce numerous watercolours in the

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south as well as of the Giant’s Causeway and landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Importantly, in 1835, he co-produced the first part of ‘Picturesque sketches of some of the finest landscape and coast scenery of Ireland from drawings by G. Petrie, PRHA; A. Nicholl & J. O’Neill’, which was published in Dublin in monthly parts (Petrie et al., 18359). Each part contained four aquatints and combined to form 24 parts. While he painted mainly in watercolour, he produced occasional oils, often in the manner of classical artists such as Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin. He also produced fine pen, ink and watercolour drawings showing the landscape viewed through banks of wild flowers. James Howard Burgess (c.1817-1890) also painted coastal scenery contributing views to publications including ‘Hall’s Ireland’ (Hall, 184310) as well as producing fine watercolour drawings such as ‘The Grey Man’s Path, Fairhead, County Antrim’, which illustrates the precarious rock formations along that part of the coast.

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Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a wealth of illustrated topographical publications were produced, many of which included views of the coastline of Northern Ireland. Most of these publications also included views of the south and the lakes, but others were devoted more specifically to the rugged northern coast. Although Daniell & Ayton’s ‘Voyage Round Great Britain’ (1814-1824) (Daniell & Ayton, 181411) did not extend to include the Irish coastline, there is no doubt that many of the artists of the time, including Nicholl, would have been familiar with their works particularly on account of the numerous Daniell’s views of the Scottish coast. It is interesting to note that Daniell did ‘produce’ an image of the Giant’s Causeway, very much in his style (see Figure 4.3), so perhaps he did visit the coast of Northern Ireland when depicting Staffa and other locations on Scotland’s west coast. However, another major publication ‘Views of the Ports, Harbours and Watering Places of Great Britain’ by the Finden Brothers (Finden & Finden, 183812) did include several steel engravings of the Northern Irish coast.

FIGURE 4.1: An early watercolour drawing of ‘Dunluce Castle’ by J. Nixon from the late eighteenth century.

The artists who produced views for book illustrations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries wished to explore the picturesque scenery of Northern Ireland’s coast in its own right, and undertook extensive walking or riding tours covering the coastline from Derry, Co. Londonderry, along the north coast past the Giant’s Causeway, and south to the border with Ireland. However, they were also following in the footsteps of their clients, wealthy gentry, who wished not only to explore the landscape and historic sites around the Irish coast for themselves, but also wished to commission artists to produce fine views for them to hang in their town houses and country properties. Emerging artists residing and exhibiting in both London and Belfast received training from their masters who, without doubt, knew each other and exchanged views on the quality of the landscape of Northern Ireland, and the opportunities the great castles around the coast and the dramatic coastal scenery could provide in terms of subject matter. Topographical books not only contain plates that bear interesting comparison with present day coastal conditions, but also include descriptions of the coastal geology and scenery that can inform us usefully about the changing physical conditions and environment in the coastal zone. Perhaps one of the earliest publications containing views of Northern Ireland was the ‘Copperplate Magazine’ (Walker (Ed.), 1792-180013). ‘This elegant cabinet of picturesque prints consisting of sublime and interesting views in Great Britain and Ireland, beautifully engraved by the most eminent artists from the paintings and drawings from the first masters (with descriptive letter press)’ included views by artists such as Nixon and Francis Wheatley. The plates included views of Belfast, Londonderry and Carrickfergus Castle. Over the same period William Wilson produced ‘The Post-chaise Companion or Traveller’s Directory through Ireland’ (Wilson, 178614). His publication included a view of the Giant’s Causeway drawn by Nixon, as well as views in southern Ireland, including the Lakes of Killarney.

In 1817 Ann Plumptre published her ‘Narrative of a resident in Ireland during the summer of 1814, and that of 1815. Illustrated with numerous engravings of remarkable scenery’ (Plumptre, 181715). Her book contains a series of aquatint views including Rathin Island, Carrick-aRede and the Giant’s Causeway. In 1824 Dennis Sullivan wrote ‘A Picturesque Tour through Ireland Illustrated with Numerous Coloured Views of the Most Interesting Scenery’ (Sullivan, 182416). Containing 25 coloured aquatints, and descriptive letterpress, his plates include views of the Giant’s Causeway; Roche Castle, Belfast; the Lough of Belfast; and Carlingford Castle. One year later James Norris Brewer’s ‘The Beauties of Ireland – Being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Biographical of each County Illustrated with engravings’ was published containing 24 plates (Brewer, 182517). Philip Dixon Hardy produced a guide aimed specifically for visitors to the north coast in 1830. Entitled ‘The Northern Tourist, or, Stranger’s Guide to the North and North-West of Ireland – including a Particular Description of Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway, etc’, it included a map and ten views engraved by Miller after the important artist Petrie (Hardy, 183018); whilst in the same year, Andrew Nicholl’s ‘Twelve drawings of the North Coast of Ireland’, published by Ackermann of London, included lithographs of ‘Carrickfergus from the Scotch quarter’; ‘Fair Head from the sea, County Antrim’; ‘Carric-a-Rede, County Antrim’; ‘Pleaskin near the Giant’s Causeway’; ‘Dunluce Castle, County Antrim’; and ‘Ballyreagh Castle near Portrush, County Antrim’, together with other plates (Nicholl, 183019). For travellers in the field, the Octavo sized guide by George Petrie ‘Ten views of picturesque scenery in the north and north-west of Ireland’, which was engraved by William Miller from drawings by George Petrie, was published in Dublin. The book includes views of Rostrevor, Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway; Carric-a-Rede, Dunluce Castle and Londonderry (Petrie, 183020).

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FIGURE 4.2: An oil painting by Andrew Nicholl of ‘The Giant’s Causeway’. One of numerous views of the Antrim coast by this artist.

FIGURE 4.3: A detailed aquatint of ‘The Giant’s Causeway’, perhaps the most frequently painted subject in Northern Ireland, produced by William Daniell, c.1820

The artist James Howard Burgess (referred to earlier) produced ‘Illustrations of the North of Ireland, and a guide to the Giant’s Causeway, from drawings made expressly for the work by J. Howard Burgess and containing a map and descriptive views’ in the 1840s. This book, which contained 20 small line engravings and vignettes, included views of Carrickfergus Castle, Belfast Lough, Glenarm, the Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle, White Rocks at Portrush, as well as Rostrevor and Carlingford and Rostrevor Bay (Burgess, c184021). Three years later the very prolific traveller and artist, William Henry Bartlett, produced ‘The scenery and antiquities of Ireland illustrated with drawings by W. H. Bartlett’, containing 118 plates and map (Bartlett, 184322). With increasing numbers of visitors to Ireland and the Northern Irish coast, the later publications made use of steel plates rather than copper plates or the expensive aquatints and lithographic processes. Steel engravings allowed much longer print runs to be achieved to meet the needs of the growing numbers of coastal travellers. Some authors and artists continued, however, to specify lithographic plates or wood cuts such as J. D. Doyle, who wrote ‘Tourists in Ulster – A Handbook to the Antiquities and Scenery of Northern Ireland’, with numerous illustrations chiefly from the author’s sketchbook’ (Doyle, 185423). William McComb wrote, in 1861, ‘McComb’s Guide to Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway and the Adjoining Districts of Antrim and Down’. The book was illustrated with numerous engravings and a map of Belfast (McComb, 186124). Two years later John Tillotson wrote ‘Ireland and its Scenery’. This work was illustrated with 35 steel engravings by various artists and included views of all the favourite tourist destinations including Rostrevor and the Giant’s Causeway (Tillotson, 186325). In 1873 Thomas Creswick wrote ‘Picturesque Scenery in Ireland Drawn by T. Creswick, R.A.’. Described as providing “descriptive jottings by a tourist” the steel engraved Octovo publication included views of Dunluce Castle, Fair Head, and the Castle of Carrickfergus (Creswick, 187326).

The engravings and vignettes of coastal towns provide a chronology of coastal development and illustrate the expansion of coastal hamlets and fishing villages into fashionable resorts and spas. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw increasing numbers of colour plate book illustrations to cater for the growing number of coastal visitors, as well as the introduction of colour picture postcards by famous companies such as Raphael Tuck and J. &. F. Salmon and others. Book publishers including A. & C. Black and J. & F. Salmon commissioned a range of artists including ‘Jotter’ (Walter Hayward-Young) and Alfred Heaton Cooper and others to produce attractive views that could be illustrated as postcards or as book illustrations; for example, ‘Ireland’ illustrated by F.S Walker and described by Frank Mathew (Mathew, 190527), which was re-published in 1916 with colour plates after Heaton Cooper (Mathew, 191628). Further into the twentieth century and after the Great War the detailed watercolour drawings and oil paintings from the Victorian and Edwardian eras lost favour to the more impressionistic landscapes which highlighted the light on the water, the beaches and the cliffs. Although some of these artworks do contain interesting topographical detail (see Chapter Six – Case Studies) this detail is not typical of the new genre. This description of coastal artworks in Northern Ireland illustrates briefly the resources that may be available to assist our understanding of coastal change over the last 250 years. Whilst the coastline of Northern Ireland has not, perhaps, been painted as intensively as some other parts of the United Kingdom, there is still a significant resource both in terms of book illustrations and historical descriptions contained in the Ulster Museum, the Ballycastle Museum, the Coleraine Museum and numerous other fine local collections across the Province as well as the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland.

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FIGURE 4.4: A panorama of ‘Belfast Lough’, c.1838. Engraved from an original drawing by the prolific William Henry Bartlett.

FIGURE 4.5 (ABOVE): A watercolour drawing of ‘Carlingford Lough’ by Alfred Heaton Cooper, c.1905. Such drawings can often inform us of environmental conditions such as tree and shrub growth, as well as plant species thriving at the time.

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References 1 Hardie, M., 1966. ‘Watercolour Painting in Britain’. 3 vols. Batsford. ISBN: 0-7134-0717-4.

16 Sullivan, D., 1824. ‘A Picturesque Tour Through Ireland Illustrated with Numerous coloured Views of the Most Interesting scenery.’4to. Thomas M’Lean. London.

2 Mallalieu, H. L., 1976. ‘The Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists up to 1920’. Antique Collectors’ Club. Woodbridge. ISBN: 0-902028-48-0.

17 Brewer, J. N., 1825. ‘The Beauties of Ireland – Being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Biographical of Each County’. 24 Plates. 8vo. London.

3 Wood, C., 1995. ‘Dictionary of British Art – Victorian Painters’. Antique Collectors’ Club. Woodbridge. ISBN: 1-85149-172-4.

18 Hardy, P. D., 1830. ‘The Northern Tourist or Stranger’s Guide to the North and North-West of Ireland’. 12mo. Wm. Curry. Dublin.

4 Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin. 1994. ‘The Watercolours of Ireland’. Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN: 0 09 178369 0.

19 Nicholl, A., 1830. ‘Twelve Drawings of the North Coast of Ireland’. 4to. Belfast & London. Ackermann.

5 Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin. 2002. ‘Ireland’s Painters 1600-1940’. Paul Mellon Centre. Yale University. ISBN: 0-300-09765-4. 6 Burke, E., 1757. ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful’. 7 Grose, F., 1791. ‘Antiquities of Ireland’. London. S Hooper.

20 Petrie, G., 1830. ‘Ten Views of Picturesque Scenery in the North and North-West of Ireland’. 8vo. Wm. Curry. Dublin. 21 Burgess, J. H., c.1840. ‘Illustrations of the North of Ireland and a Guide to the Giant’s Causeway’. 4to. Belfast. Marcus Ward. 22 Bartlett, W. H., 1843. ‘The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland’. 4to. London. George Virtue.

8 Adams, R., 1984. ‘Andrew Nicholl’. The Irish Arts Review. Dublin. 23 Doyle, J. D., 1854. ‘Tourists in Ulster – A Handbook to the 9 Petrie, G; Nicholl, A. & O’Neill, H., 1835. ‘Picturesque Sketches of some of the Finest Landscape and Coastal Scenery of

Antiquities and Scenery of Northern Ireland’. 8vo. Dublin. Hodges & Smith.

Ireland’. Vol.1. 4to. Dublin. Wakeman. 24. McComb, W., 1861. ‘McComb’s Guide to Belfast, the Giant’s 10 Hall, S. C. & Hall, A. M 1841-43. ‘Ireland – Its Scenery, Character &c’. 8vo. Howard Parsons. London. 11 Daniell, W. & Ayton, R., 1814. ‘A Voyage Round Great Britain’. Private Press. London. 12 Finden, E. & Finden, W., 1838. ‘Views of the Ports, Harbours and Watering Places of Great Britain’. Virtue & Co. London. 13 Walker, J. (Ed.), 1792-1802. ‘The Copperplate Magazine’. Harrison & C0. London. 14 Wilson, W., 1786. ‘The Post-chaise Companion or Traveller’s Directory through Ireland’. 8vo. London.

Causeway and the Adjoining Districts of Antrim and Down’. 8vo. Belfast. 25 Tillotson, J., 1863. ‘Ireland and its Scenery’. 4to. London. T. J. Allman. 26 Creswick, T., 1873. ‘Picturesque Scenery in Ireland drawn by T. Creswick RA’. 8vo. London. Virtue. 27 Mathew, F., 1905. ‘Ireland’. Illust. by F. S. Walker. A. & C. Black. London. 28 Mathew, F., 1916. ‘Ireland’. Illust. by Alfred Heaton Cooper. A. & C. Black. London.

15 Plumtre, A., 1817. ‘Narrative of a Residence in Ireland during the Summer of 1814 and 1815’. 4to. London.

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The availability of art resources to support coastal management FIGURE 5.1:

Introduction

A page from BBC ‘Your Paintings’ website.

This study of art and coastal change in Northern Ireland required the review of historical works of art – oil paintings, watercolour drawings, and prints of various kinds, as well as old photographs, maps, postcards, and historical literature accounts relating to coastal change. There is a rich resource of material held in national, regional and local collections that has the potential to support decision-making in coastal management. A key research task has been, therefore, to retrieve and collate the relevant artforms and provide an explanation of their potential use as an additional tool to assist understanding of physical change on the coast, which can be used alongside existing measures and approaches available to coastal managers and other users. The applications of these artworks are explained in the succeeding chapters together with a summary of the resources available. This report provides information on art resources that would, generally, be less easy to find, or more time consuming to access, by individual coastal managers, scientists, and planning officers within local authorities as, in most cases, some knowledge is required of the artists of the coastal frontage concerned as a starting point for searching museum and other artists’ databases. This report is not intended to provide comprehensive information on artists and their works, but it aims to raise awareness of their potential applications in terms of assisting understanding of coastal change, and of where further information may be obtained if required. There has been a significant improvement in both the quality

and availability of artistic data through on-line databases and other catalogues over the last three years but, despite this, it is a challenging task to develop a comprehensive list of accurate artistic depictions of the Northern Ireland coast, ensuring that only those works which are most relevant and helpful in explaining coastal change are included on the shortlist of artists. In terms of art this study has highlighted that, in addition to original paintings and drawings, many useful topographical illustrations can be found in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century topographical books (see Chapter Four). To establish the range of images and key publications held in public collections that relate to the coast a review has been undertaken of the relevant artworks held by the principal collections both in Northern Ireland and more widely across the United Kingdom. An assessment of Northern Ireland’s coastal art contained within the collections has been gained from discussions with museum and gallery curators, and from important art publications as well as from searches of on-line databases. The literature sources relating to oil paintings and watercolours that were exhibited at the principal exhibitions are comprehensive and comprise reviews of the artists and their works (e.g. Graves, 19011). In terms of books and prints these are described comprehensively in the ‘National Library of Ireland Catalogue’ (Elmes & Hewson, 19752) together with catalogues and dictionaries published by the museums themselves or interested publishers. Works of this kind do, therefore, represent a considerable resource, which has supported this study (Wood,

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FIGURE 5.2: A watercolour of ‘Dunluce Castle’ printed on a colour picture postcard in about 1900.

19993; Russell, 19794; Lambourne et al., 19805; Mallalieu, 19846; MacKenzie, 19877; Public Catalogues Foundation (from 20048). Comprehensive descriptions of Irish art have been provided in two extensive, well illustrated publications by Crookshank and the Knight of Glin (Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, 19949; 200210) and for the twentieth century the ‘Dictionary of Irish Artists’ (Snoddy, 199611).

5.1 Searching the collections Great Britain and Northern Ireland hold in their galleries and civic buildings arguably the greatest collection of oil paintings in the world. Over 200,000 publicly-owned oil paintings are held in institutions ranging from national museums to town halls and heritage centres. However, 80% of these paintings are not on view. Whilst many galleries make strenuous efforts to display their collections, many paintings across the country are held in storage, usually because there are insufficient funds and space to show them. Furthermore, very few galleries had created a complete photographic record of their paintings let alone a comprehensive illustrated catalogue of their collections. The Public Catalogues Foundation (PCF) was launched in 2003. It is a registered charity and is based in London (www.

thepcf.org.uk). Over the last few years the PCF has been photographing oil paintings and collating information about each painting. In doing this it has been working closely with collections across the United Kingdom. In 2012 the task of photographing the nation’s 212,000 oil paintings was completed. Initially the PCF’s main focus was publishing a series of hard copy catalogues with thumbnail images of the oil paintings in each collection; over forty of the planned ninety catalogues have been published. Then the focus turned to publishing on-line. Through a partnership with the BBC all the paintings can now be viewed on-line at www.bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings. Online access allows users to search paintings by various criteria and view larger images, whilst collections will be able to update their painting records website. Together the two organisations are radically improving the public’s awareness of the oil paintings they own but, in most cases, cannot see; ‘Your Paintings’ was launched in the summer of 2011 and now showcases the entire national collection of oil paintings. It is recognised that, at present, the PCF initiative just includes oil paintings and not watercolour drawings and prints. To extend the scope to cover drawings and prints would be an enormous task but highly desirable for the future.

The study has established that there is a rich resource of coastal landscape art contained in national, regional and local collections in Northern Ireland alongside a wealth of coastal views contained in 18th and 19th century topographical books.

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FIGURE 5.3:

References

An extensive view across the city of ‘Londonderry’

1 Graves, A., 1901. ‘A Dictionary of Artists who

drawn by W. H. Bartlett.

have Exhibited Works at the Principal London

This is one of a number of

Exhibitions from 1760-1893’. Kingsmead

views of Northern Ireland

Press. Bath.

Collector’s Club. Woodbridge. 8 Public Catalogues Foundation. Ellis, A. (Ed.), from 2004. ‘Oil Paintings in Public Ownership’

contained in the important coastal publication ‘Ports

7 MacKenzie, I., 1987. ‘British Prints’. Antique

2 Elmes, R. M. & Hewson, M., 1975. ‘Catalogue

and Harbours of Great

of Irish Topographical Prints and Original

Britain’ by the Finden

Drawings’. National Library of Ireland.

Brothers, which was

Malton Press.

(Various volumes). London. 9 Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin, 1994. ‘The Watercolours of Ireland’. Barrie & Jenkins. London. ISBN: 0 09 1783630.

published in 1838. 3 Wood, C., 1999. ‘The Dictionary of Victorian Painters’ (2nd Edition). Antique Collector’s

10 Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin, 2002.

Club. Woodbridge.

‘Ireland’s Painters 1600-1940’. Paul Mellon Centre, Yale University Press. New Haven

4 Russell, R., 1979. ‘Guide to British

& London. ISBN: 0 300 09765 4.

Topographical Prints’. David and Charles. Newton Abbot.

11 Snoddy, T. 1996. ‘Dictionary of Irish artists – 20th Century’. Merlin publishers.

5 Lambourne, L. & Hamilton, A. J., 1980.

ISBN:918582-17-2.

‘British Watercolours in the Victoria and Albert Museum’. Crown Copyright. London. 6 Mallalieu, H., 1984. ‘The Dictionary of British Watercolourists up to 1920’. Antique Collector’s Club. Woodbridge.

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Art and coastal change – case studies FIGURE 6.1: ‘Ross-Trevor Pier’, a steel engraving by William Henry Bartlett, 1838

The purpose of the case studies provided on the following pages is to illustrate how historical artworks can inform coastal managers, planning officers, countryside officers, scientists and stakeholders more widely of the potential of art as a valuable additional tool to support understanding of long-term coastal change in Northern Ireland. In the nineteenth century, in particular, there was great interest in the emerging science of geology as well as in the natural sciences more widely; this interest was reflected in the works of a number of leading coastal artists. Art also provided the only means of portraying the coastal scenery in colour through the nineteenth and into the twentieth century, prior to the introduction of colour photography. The discovery of the coast of Northern Ireland, with its spectacular scenery and heritage alongside its benefits for health, meant, inevitably, that the focus for many artists was coastal scenery and beach and harbour scenes as well as the activities of fishermen,

shipping, yachting, and shipwrecks. Victorian and Edwardian visitors commissioned or wished to purchase accurate depictions of the coast to remind them of their holidays. As a result much of the wealth of such oil paintings, watercolour drawings and prints can be used to inform us of the physical and environmental conditions existing at the time as well as providing a chronology of coastal developments such as the construction of coastal defences, ports, harbours and seafronts. Case Study 1 – Art supporting understanding of the coastal geology and geomorphology; Case Study 2 – Art assisting understanding of coastal erosion and beach change; Case Study 3 – Art depicting the chronology of harbour developments and coastal defences; Case Study 4 – Art illustrating coastal heritage.

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Case study 1: Art supporting understanding of coastal geology and geomorphology FIGURE 6.2 (TOP): The coastal geology of Northern Ireland was depicted by numerous painters in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Clarkson Stanfield produced a dramatic view of the columnar basalt formations in his oil ‘The Stack Rock, County Antrim’ in 1861.

FIGURE 6.3 (MIDDLE): Andrew Nicholl painted numerous views of the coastal landforms and cliff lines drawing attention to the quality and interest of this coastline. Today the great scenic coastal highway follows the same route through the arched rock (FIGURE 6.4 BOTTOM).

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The iconic ‘Giant’s Causeway’ was painted and later photographed throughout the last two centuries. Although composed of resilient Basalt the site is threatened by rising sea levels which will gradually inundate the lower steps (National Trust, 2005). This sequence of images are taken from an almost identical spot. FIGURE 6.5 (TOP) is an artistic impression by Brian Gerald (c.1900) whilst the colour photograph was taken in the 1960s (FIGURE 6.6, MIDDLE). Where great attention to detail has been provided by the artist such as in Gerald’s work, it is possible to make direct comparison of change. The present day (2011) view is provided in FIGURE 6.7 (BOTTOM).

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Case study 2: Art assisting understanding of coastal erosion and beach change

FIGURE 6.8 (ABOVE): This fine painting shows the coastal geology and

FIGURE 6.10 (BOTTOM RIGHT): is taken

geomorphology at Murlough Bay and Fair Head on the Antrim coast in about

slightly landward and closer to the cottage,

1870 by B. C. Watkins. It provides a detailed account of the cliff line, coastal

and at High Water. For those locations

slope and beach conditions at the time. The dramatic Fair Head can be seen

favoured by artists there is usually a sufficient

in the distance and is also illustrated in the steel engraving (FIGURE 6.9,

range of paintings, watercolours and prints

BOTTOM LEFT) There appears to be a significant accumulation of cliff talus

available to allow direct comparisons to be

(debris) in Watkins’ view.

made over time.

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Evening Ballycastle (c.1924) by Frank McKelvey (1895-1974). © Estate of Frank McKelvey 2013.

FIGURE 6.11 (ABOVE): This fine oil painting by Frank McKelvey painted c.1924 illustrates the extensive sandy beach at Ballycastle. Such beaches are likely to be vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise, particularly where hard rock cliffs behind the beach can lead to ‘coastal squeeze’ and beach lowering. This issue was highlighted by the National Trust in relation to some of the United Kingdom’s most outstanding beaches in its report ‘Shifting Shores – Living with a Changing Coastline’ (2005). The present day view shows the excellent quality of the beach today (FIGURE 6.12, BELOW).

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Case study 2: Art assisting understanding of coastal erosion and beach change

The extensive sandy beaches at Portrush have been depicted by many artists, including the view by Geoffrey Bevington painted in 1870 (FIGURE 6.13, ABOVE). The nineteenth century watercolour by John Carey is taken a little further back (FIGURE 6.14, BELOW).

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The photographic postcard of Portrush, c.1920 (FIGURE 6.15, ABOVE) appears to show little change in beach conditions over half a century, although a new sea wall has been constructed which could result in beach lowering as waves reflect off the hard structure. The present day situation is illustrated in FIGURE 6.16 (BELOW).

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Case study 2: Art assisting understanding of coastal erosion and beach change

FIGURE 6.17 (TOP): This extensive view of the sand dunes

The present day view shows the rock armour revetment

north of Newcastle, County Down, with the Mourne Mountains

at the back of the beach. The use of rock armour for coast

behind, was painted by James Howard Burgess (c.1810-1890).

protection can be effective in terms of breaking the force of

A closer view showing Victorian seaside development, the

the waves as well as encouraging beach build-up in front of

seawall and beach can be seen in the postcard (FIGURE

the structure as the waves drop the suspended sediment

6.18, BOTTOM LEFT), c.1920.

(FIGURE 6.19, BOTTOM RIGHT).

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Case study 3: Art depicting the chronology of harbour developments and coastal defences Historical images such as paintings, photographs and postcards can form valuable records of the methods of construction and subsequent alterations to harbour walls and coastal defence structures. Gaining an understanding of such structures can be particularly helpful to designers and coastal engineers when planning maintenance or replacements perhaps a century later. Knowledge of the approach adopted by engineers in the past may help to reduce the cost of expensive site investigations; FIGURE 6.20 (TOP) shows the harbour at Portstewart. Changes to the coastline over time can arise from both physical processes such as marine erosion, but also as a result of the necessity for human intervention for development purposes or the need to construct coastal defences. The postcard (FIGURE 6.21, MIDDLE) shows the beach at Warrenpoint at the head of Carlingford Lough. The present day view with its rock revement can be seen in FIGURE 6.22 (BOTTOM).

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Case study 4: Art illustrating coastal heritage

Northern Ireland benefits from a rich coastal

Garron Point (FIGURE 6.25, BOTTOM) is a headland on the famous Antrim

heritage including dramatically located castles,

coast road in the east of the County. Around the headland the road, almost

mansions and other structures, such as

at sea level, skirts the base of the chalk cliffs. There are striking views of

Dunluce – a particularly popular subject for

the chalk strata overlying the black Basalt lava deposits. The scene is

artists. The late nineteenth century watercolour

depicted in the oil painting of ‘View of Garron Tower and Cliffs from the

shows the thirteenth century cliff top ruin

Shore to the South-East’ by M. E. Thompson (c.1853). Garron Tower

(FIGURE 6.23, TOP LEFT), which is also

is an austere, romantic cliff top castle of black Basalt built in 1850 as

illustrated in a postcard c.1900 (FIGURE 6.24,

a summer retreat.

TOP RIGHT).

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FIGURE 6.26 TOP) shows Carrickfergus Castle on the shore of Belfast Lough painted in 1690. A later painting shows more defences constructed on the beach.

The castle was engraved by numerous artists in the nineteenth century, including William Henry Bartlett in 1838 (FIGURE 6.27, MIDDLE LEFT). The present day view is illustrated in FIGURE 6.28 (MIDDLE RIGHT).

FIGURE 6.29 (BOTTOM): Cliff instability problems posed a risk to the Mussenden Temple on the cliff top at Downhill Strand near Castlerock. Measures were taken to protect the structure on behalf of the National Trust, which owns the estate.

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7

Conclusions and Recommendations 7.1 Introduction Although a significant proportion of the coastline of Northern Ireland consists of more durable rock formations, the remaining soft rock frontages and low-lying coastal zones face particular challenges from the hazards of coastal erosion, land instability and sea flooding. The predicted impacts of climate change are likely to speed up coastal processes and, together with sea level rise, may increase risks to people, property, coastal heritage and the environment over the next century. Beaches form the front line of coastal defence in many locations and along some frontages they have been the subject of detailed research. There is a perception that beaches are coming under increasing pressure from storm events and recovery to their former levels is becoming increasingly difficult. To help understand and address these issues it is now widely agreed that sustainable coastal policies should be founded upon a thorough understanding of how the coastline has evolved over time taking advantage of a long-term perspective to inform wise decision-making. The need to adapt to changing coastal conditions requires a range of tools to support decision-making, for example, the monitoring of coastal change using new technologies. However, coastal monitoring is a relatively recent innovation. Aerial photography has only existed since the 1940s and few coastal frontages have been monitored in a systematic way for more than twenty years. Therefore, other tools, for example historical paintings, watercolour drawings, prints, maps, photographs and literature accounts can assist in supporting our understanding of long-term coastal change over the last 200

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years by taking advantage of ‘the wisdom of hindsight’. Artworks can, therefore, form particularly valuable additional resources available to coastal managers, planning officers and others living and working around the coast of Northern Ireland. The coastline of Northern Ireland benefits from a rich heritage of works of art painted or published, individually, or within illustrated topographical books dating from the mid-eighteenth century. Alongside these are written descriptions, which provide accounts of the longstanding problems of flooding and erosion that have been faced by coastal communities over the last two hundred years. A methodology has been developed for assessing the relative value of Northern Ireland’s works of art in terms of their accuracy as a qualitative tool to support understanding of long-term coastal change. The related research has identified a rich resource of images and accounts that can provide evidence of the changing coast in an accurate, informative and interesting way.

7.2 Conclusions We can conclude from the research in support of preparation of this report that: 1 A rich resource of landscape art is contained in national, regional and local galleries, museums, libraries, archives, and study centres, and these represent a valuable additional tool to support understanding of long-term coastal change in Northern Ireland. 2 These artworks and literature accounts help to illustrate the scale and rate of

6 Paintings, watercolours and prints of the Northern Ireland coast have highlighted the role that historical images may also fulfil in supporting understanding of social and environmental change. These aspects merit further investigation.

coastal change particularly over the last 200 years. Marine erosion and the influence of tides and currents are the most influential factors in shaping and altering the coast in the long-term compared, for example, with human intervention and coastal development activities.

7.3 Recommendations 3 A ranking system has been developed which allows comparison of the relative value of works of art in terms of informing understanding of coastal change. A shortlist of key artists together with a list of key coastal landscape painters has been prepared to assist use of these resources by coastal managers, planners, researchers and practitioners. 4 The Public Catalogue Foundation’s work on collating the ‘Oil Paintings in Public Collections’, now linked with the BBC ‘Your Paintings’ website represent a very valuable resource. This study can assist further by providing a short-list of the names of those artists who, in the opinion of the authors, make the greatest contribution to our understanding of coastal change in Northern Ireland. This shortlist will assist the search of museum and gallery databases on the Internet. 5 The preparation of this report has been achieved successfully with the considerable interest and support of museums, galleries, local authority curators and archivists, art historians and private collectors; their contributions are most gratefully acknowledged. The study could not have been completed without the support of The Crown Estate, for which the authors are most grateful.

1 Artworks and other historical images relating to the coast of Northern Ireland, which are held in national, regional and local collections and archives, form a valuable additional tool available to support wise, sustainable management on the coast, as well as assisting the processes of stakeholder consultation over adaptation to coastal change. The availability of this important and relatively under-used resource should be highlighted nationally to professionals in this field through distribution of this report across Northern Ireland. 2 The art record contributes towards an understanding of the timescale for coastal evolution and change in Northern Ireland; this resource should be used to support integrated coastal zone management. 3 The results of this study and this new report should be presented to users and stakeholders around the coast of Northern Ireland following publication of this report by The Crown Estate. 4 The role that artworks can fulfil in illustrating social changes and environmental/landscape change over the last 200 years could be usefully researched and the preparation of further reports on these topics is recommended.

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Appendix 1 – Initial shortlist of artists who painted the Northern Ireland coastline 1770-1940

Key to List of Artists AOWS Associate of the Old Watercolour Society POWS President of the Old Watercolour Society BI British Institution (1806-1867) NEAC New English Art Club NWS The New Watercolour Society (founded in 1832) OWS The Old Watercolour Society (founded in 1804, became RWS in 1881) RWS The Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours RA The Royal Academy RBA The Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street RE Royal Society of Etchers and Engravers RI The Royal Institution of Painters in Watercolours RCA Royal Cambrian Academy, Manchester RHA Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin ROI Royal Institute of Oil Painters RP Royal Society of Portrait Painters SS Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street (founded in 1824) FL Flourished (the period over which the artist worked or exhibited)

NB: The spellings listed in the titles of works are those provided by the artists or authors.

BARTLETT, William Henry, 1809-1854 An important topographical landscape artist and book illustrator, he produced numerous drawings for his ‘The Scenery of Ireland’ (1842) as well as for ‘Ports and Harbours of Great Britain’ by the Finden brothers (1838). BAYNES, Thomas Mann, 1794-1854 A lithographer; his coastal views include ‘Carrick-a-Rede’, ‘Derry’, ‘the Giant’s Causeway’ and ‘Glenarm’. for ‘Ireland Illustrated’ (1832). BEVINGTON, Geoffrey, Fl. 1870s A watercolour of ‘Portrush’ is in the collection of the Ulster Museum. BROCAS, Henry. Snr., 1762-1837 A prolific landscape artist, engraver and illustrator working mainly in watercolour. All four of his sons also became artists. He painted views of ‘Glenarm’, ‘Cushenden’ and ‘Carrickfergus Castle’. BURGESS, James Howard, 1817-1890 He produced twenty views for his ‘Illustrations of the North Coast of Ireland and the Giant’s Causeway’ (M. Ward, 1862).

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CAMPBELL, John Henry, 1757-1828 A landscape painter exhibiting at the RHA in 1826 and 1828. He painted small watercolours of ‘The Bann’ and the ‘Lough Earne Causeway’. CAREY, Joseph William, 1859-1937 A watercolour of The Gobbins Cliff, Belfast’, 1919, was sold at Christie’s (Irish Sale) on 8/5/2008. CLENNELL, Luke, 1781-1840 A painter of coastal scenery and landscapes. He painted a watercolour of ‘The Giant’s Causeway’. COOPER, Alfred Heaton, 1864-1929 A prolific landscape painter and book illustrator. He illustrated ‘Ireland’ by Frank Mathew (A. & C. Black, 1909). CRAIG, James Herbert, 1878-1944 An oil on panel of ‘Glenarm Head from Garron’ was sold by James Adam Auctions (10/6/2009). CRESWICK, Thomas RA, 1811-1869 Creswick was a landscape painter and illustrator who produced many fine drawings of Irish scenery including views of ‘Carrickfergus’, ‘Derry’ and ‘Fair Head’. DRURY, Susanna, 1698-1770 A landscape artist and book illustrator noted for her two extremely detailed gouache paintings of the Giant’s Causeway taken from both east and west prospects. The Dublin Society acknowledged her work through its first award in 1740. Her original paintings are in the Collection of the Ulster Museum. DOYLE, J. B., Fl. Mid-19th c. He produced lithographs and woodcuts for his ‘Tours In Ulster’ (1854). FISHER, Jonathan, c.1740-1809 A self-taught landscape painter and engraver from Dublin who produced various sets of picturesque views. His most important work was the sixty aquatint Plates he produced for ‘Scenery of Ireland’ (1796). His Northern Ireland views included ‘Belfast’ and ‘Rostrevor’. Ford, J., Fl. Early 1800s. Ford produced aquatint views of the Antrim coast for ‘A Statistical Survey of the County of Antrim’ (Dubordieu, Rev. J. 1812). GASTINEAU, Henry OWS, 1791-1876 A prolific topographical artist and book illustrator with views of the Antrim coast amongst his output. HAYWARD-YOUNG, Walter, Fl. c.1900 Known as ‘Jotter’, a watercolourist, his work was reproduced as colour picture postcards; e.g. ‘Blackhead – at the Northern End of Belfast Lough’ in about 1900.

HULL, Frederick W., 1867-1953 A landscape painter from County Louth, he exhibited thirty-five works at the RHA between 1903-1930. In 1949 over seventy of his works were exhibited at the Belfast Museum and Art gallery (Snoddy, 2002). An oil painting of ‘The White Rocks, Portrush’ (1913-1914) is in the collection of National Museums Northern Ireland (BELUM.U578). MARKHAM, David F., Fl. Mid-19th c. He produced sepia watercolour drawings including ‘Dunluce Castle’ (c.1848) and ‘Hollywood in Belfast Lough’ (c.1848). MCKELVEY, Frank RHA RUA, 1895-1974 A Belfast born landscape and portrait painter whose works were recognized by numerous awards and medals. He exhibited continuously at the RHA between 1918-1973. He was one of the first acadamicians at the Ulster Academy (see Snoddy, 2002 pps. 391-393). His view of ‘Evening – Ballycastle’ is in the collection of the National Museums Northern Ireland (BELUM.U572) MOORE, Dr James, 1819-1883 A frequent exhibitor and honorary member of the RHA. An album of his watercolours is in the collection of the Ulster Museum. NEALE, John Preston, 1780-1847 A topographical artist and friend of John Varley. He painted a view of ‘Glenarm Castle’. NEWMAN, J., Fl. Mid-19th c. He produced engravings and chromolithographs of the coast including ‘Carrick-a-Rede’ and ‘Portstewart’ NIXON, James, 1741-1812 His picturesque style watercolour drawing of ‘Dunluce’ (c.1761-1764) is in the collection of the National Library of Ireland (PD1976 TX126). NICHOLL, Andrew RHA, 1804-1866 A prolific exhibitor of views of the coast of Northern Ireland, particularly the Antrim coastline. In April 1829 the Northern Whig noted ‘..perhaps there cannot be found a more favourable specimen of this branch of the fine arts than the drawings of the scenery of the County of Antrim which are now before us, executed by a very young but undoubtedly talented artist of great promise – Mr Andrew Nicholl, of Belfast…’ Nicholl produced a fine series of views of the coast for his ‘Twelve Drawings of the North Coast of Ireland’ (c.1830s). He also became known for painting landscapes through banks of wild flowers. In April 1835 appeared the first part of ‘Picturesque Sketches of some of the Finest Scenery of Ireland from Drawings by G. Petrie RHA, A Nicholl and H. O’Neill’ published by W.F Wakeman of Dublin. He was elected an Associate of the RHA in 1837. Later he was chosen as one of the illustrators for Hall’s ‘Ireland – its Scenery and Character’ (1841-1843). Important works by Nicholl are held by the National Museums Northern Ireland including ‘Red Bay’ (BELUM. P10.1973), ‘The Long Bridge, Belfast’ (BELUM P85.1917) and ‘The Giant’s Causeway’ (BELUM. U725). Additional works by Nicholl are held in the collections of the Ballycastle Museum and the Coleraine Museum.

PETRIE, George PRHA, 1790-1866 A prolific painter and exhibitor of landscape subjects both at the RA in 1816 and at the RHA from its first exhibition in 1826 until 1858. His drawings were engraved by J. & H. Storer in ‘The Beauties of Ireland’ by J. N. Brewer (1825) and for P. D. Hardy’s ‘The Northern Tourist’ (1830). Later his views were incorporated in ‘Picturesque Sketches of some of the Finest Landscapes and Coast Scenery of Ireland’ (1835). ROBINSON, Thomas, Fl. Late 19th c. A pupil of George Romney he lived in Lisburn, County Antrim, later moving to Belfast. He produced a fine oil on canvas of ‘Giant’s Causeway’ . SANDBY, Paul RA, 1725-1809 He produced a drawing of ‘Londonderry’ in 1793. STANFIELD, F. Clarkson, 1793-1867 A prolific painter of coastal scenery, he produced a dramatic oil of ‘The Stack Rock, County Antrim’ in 1861 (National Museums Northern Ireland BELUM U167). SULLIVAN Dennis, Fl. 1820s. He illustrated ‘A Picturesque Tour Through Ireland’ with twenty-five aquatints (T. M’Lean, 1824). SUMNER, John, Fl. 1850s An oil ‘Belfast Harbour Scene’, 1884, is in the collection of the National Museums Northern Ireland (BELUM. P69. 1945). THOMSON, Hugh, 1860-1920 A prolific artist and illustrator from Coleraine, County Londonderry. E.g. ‘Highways and Byways of Donegal and Antrim’ (1899). THOMPSON, M. E., Fl. 1850s He painted a fine oil of ‘Garron Tower’ and the coastal scenery in the vicinity in 1853. The picture is in the collection of the National Museums Northern Ireland (BELUM P46.1978). WALKER, Francis S. RHA RE, 1848-1916 A landscape artist who illustrated ‘Ireland’ published by A. & C. Black, in 1905. WALLIS, Henry, 1804-1890 He produced drawings for ‘Ireland – Its Scenery and Character’ published by S. C. Hall in 1841-43. WATKINS, Bartholomew, Colles RHA, 1833-1891 An Irish landscape painter. He painted a fine view of ‘Murlough Bay and Fair Head’ in about 1870, which is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI 4673).

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Appendix 2 – Selected further reading and reference books 1  Dubourdieu, Rev. J., 1812. ‘Statistical Survey of the County of Antrim... Drawn up... by the Direction of the Dublin Society’. 17 Aquatints and Maps. Dublin. Graisberry & Campbell. 2  Sullivan, D., 1824. ‘A Picturesque Tour through Ireland’. 25 Aquatints. London. Thomas M’Lean. 3  Hardy, P. D., 1830. ‘The Northern Tourist or Stranger’s Guide to the North and North-West of Ireland’. Map and 10 plates. Dublin. William Curry. 4  Nicholl, A., ARHA, c.1830s. ‘Twelve Drawings of the Northern Coast of Ireland’. Belfast. London. Ackerman.

11  Unknown Author. ‘Views in the North of Ireland’ (with no letterpress). 27 small Line Engravings. Belfast. Marcus Ward. 12  Tillotson, J., 1863. ‘Ireland and its Scenery’. 35 Steel Engravings. London. T. J. Allman. 13  Creswick, T., 1873. ‘Picturesque Scenery in Ireland’. Steel Engravings. London. Virtue. 14  Elmes, R. & Hewson, M., 1975. ‘Catalogue of Irish Topographical Prints and Original Drawings’. National Library of Ireland Society. Malton Press. Dublin. 15  Hardie, M. 1975. ‘Watercolour Painting in Britain’. Batsford Ltd.

5  Petrie, G., 1830. ‘Ten Views of Picturesque Scenery in the North and North-West of Ireland’. Line Engravings. Dublin. William Curry Jnr. 6  Burgess, J. H., c.1840s. ‘Illustrations of Northern Ireland, and a Guide to the Giant’s Causeway’. 20 Line Engravings. Belfast. Marcus Ward.

16  Mallalieu, H. 1984. ‘The Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists to 1920’. Antique Collectors’ Club. Woodbridge. ISBN: 0 902028 48 0. 17  Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin, 1994. ‘The Watercolours of Ireland’. Barrie & Jenkins. London. ISBN: 0 09 1783630.

7  Petrie, G., Nicholl, A. & O’Neill, H., 1835. ‘Picturesque Sketches of some of the Finest Landscape and Coastal Scenery in Ireland’. Dublin. Wakeman.

18  Snoddy, T. 1996. ‘Dictionary of Irish Artists – 20th Century’. Merlin Publishing. Dublin. ISBN: 1-903852-17-2.

8  Bartlett, W. H., 1842. ‘The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland’. 118 Steel Engravings. Map. London. George Virtue.

19  Wood, C. 1999. ‘The Dictionary of Victorian Painters’. ISBN: 0 902028 72 3. Baron Publications. Woodbridge, Suffolk.

9  Doyle, J. B., 1854. ‘Tours in Ulster: A Handbook to the Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Ireland’. Plates and Map. Dublin. Hodges & Smith.

20  Crookshank, A. and the Knight of Glin, 2002. ‘Ireland’s Painters 1600-1940’. Paul Mellon Centre. Yale University Press. New Haven and London. ISBN: 0 300 09765 4.

10  McComb, W., 1861. ‘McComb’s Guide to Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway and the Adjoining Districts... Antrim and Down’. Engravings and Map. Belfast.

21  The Public Catalogues Foundation. Since 2005. ‘Oil Paintings in Public Ownership’ (various Volumes). PCF. London. www.thepcf.org.uk.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the valuable support of The Crown Estate for this study. The assistance of the following organisations and individuals is also gratefully acknowledged:Jim Allen of Coleraine Borough Council; Ballycastle Museum, Causeway Museum Service; Coleraine Museum, Causeway Museum Service; Kenneth Allen; Michelle Ashmore of National Museums, Northern Ireland; Dr Rhoda Ballinger of the University of Cardiff; BBC Your Paintings; Nelson Bell; Sarah Carson of The Coleraine Museum; Professor Andrew

Cooper of the University of Ulster; Heather Cooper; Stephen Davies of Geopixuk; J. Arthur Dixon; Willie Duffin; Honora Faul, Glenn Dunne and David Phelan of The National Library of Ireland; Brigin Fegan of Down District Council; Grosvenor Prints, Covent Garden; John Goldrick of Wildrover Tours; David McFarland; Mrs Ann McKelvey; Amelia Morgan of Tate Britain; Marie McFeely of The National Gallery of Ireland; Patricia McLean; [email protected]; Helen Perry of The Causeway Museum, Coleraine Borough Council; Rossographer; Douglas Scott; Cheryl Taylor; Valentine & Sons; Wikipedia.

Picture Credits

Albert Bridge: 6.28; Ballycastle Museum, Causeway Museum Service: i.7, 2.2, 3.5, 3,11, 3.14; Coleraine Museum, Causeway Museum Service: i.6, 3.4, 3.6, 3.10, 6.14; Sam Henry Collection, Coleraine Museum, Causeway Museum Service: 3.16; J. Arthur Dixon: 6.6; John Goldrick of wildrovertours.com: 6.4; [email protected]: 6.19; Photo Copyright of The National Gallery of Ireland: 3.12, 6.8; Image Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland: 3.1, 4.1; David McFarland: 6.7, 6.10, 6.12; Robin McInnes: i.1, i.8, 1.2,

1.4, 2.1, 2.4, 3.2, 3.7, 3.9, 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.9, 6.15, 6.22, 6.23, 6.27; © Estate of Frank McKelvey: i.3/6.11; National Museums Northern Ireland: Front Cover, i.2, i.3, i.4, i.5, i.9, 1.1, 1.3, 3.3, 3.8, 3.13, 3.15, 4.2, 6.2, 6.3, 6.13, 6.17, 6.25, 6.26; The Public Catalogues Foundation/BBC Your Paintings: 5.1; Chas. L. Reis & Co, Dublin: 6.24; Copyright Rossographer: 6.29; © Tate London, 2013: 2.3; Willie Duffin: 6.16; Valentine & Sons/University of St Andrews: 3.17, 6.5, 6.18, 6.20, 6.21.

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