Bernard Gilpin making Peace among the Borders, takes down the Glove in Rothbury Church, circa 1570 (One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English Border)
William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1859 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1854 x 1854 mm (73 x 73 in)
Place of origin
Wallington
Order this imageCollection
Wallington, Northumberland
NT 584370
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Bernard Gilpin making Peace among the Borders, takes down the Glove in Rothbury Church, circa 1570, by William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890), signed and dated on side of pew in the centre: W B Scott, January to August 1859. The scene shows Bernard Gilpin removing a glove from the wall, left hanging there as a challenge and symbol by families at feud. Fighting was common even inside the church where rivals would meet. For his willingness to intervene and help bring peace to the area Bernard Gilpin became known as ‘The Apostle of the Borders’. The man reading the lesson is a likeness of Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan, the owner of the glove is Mr Charlton of Lee Hall and the man in the helmet is William Bell Scott himself. One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English Border painted between 1856 and 1861.
Provenance
William Bell Scott was commissioned in 1855 by Sir Walter Trevelyan to decorate the courtyard at Wallington; began in 1857 and the series was exhibited at regular intervals at the Literary Society in Newcastle and completed in 1861 - the scheme of decoration was finished in 1863/64 when the spandrels high up near the vault were decorated with a progression of eighteen scenes from the Ballad of Chevy Chase, and the lower pilasters painted with local flora by other artists including Ruskin, Arthur Hughes, Lady Trevelyan, as well as the portrait medallions, in the lower spandrels and portrait heads.
Credit line
Wallington, The Trevelyan Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
W B Scott Jan to Aug 1859 (signed and dated)
Makers and roles
William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890), artist