Dunster Castle, 1798, Dunster

A copper line engraving of Dunster Castle, 1798, Dunster, engraved by Samuel Rawle (1775-1860). Published in The European Magazine and London Review, "For February 1798," page 80.

This print depicts a castle on a hill, surrounded by woodland. To the left, two small figures, a lady and a gentleman in eighteenth-century dress, gesture at the pathway leading up to the building. The top-hatted gentleman raises his walking stick at the view. Two trees to the left and right of the edifice act as a repoussoir, serving as contrived frames to the scene. The text above reads "European Magazine," (indicating at the publication), and below "Dunster Castle." The text below this (visible in full editions of the periodical) reads "Published by J. Sewell, Cornhill, March 1798," but is removed in this cutting.

Dunster Castle, in Dunster, Exmoor, Somerset, was originally the home of the de Mohuns, who sold the castle to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell (c.1333-1395) in 1376 for 5,000 marks. During the 17th and 18th centuries the Luttrells remodelled the castle extensively, most notably building a large manor house within the Lower Ward in 1617, and levelling the keep buildings on the hill, (known as "the Tor”), which had been in a state of disrepair since at least 1542. Reconstructions to the interior also took place c.1589- 1620, possibly by William Arnold (d.1637). This print, however, precedes the more extensive Gothic Revival renovations of the 1860s, by the architect Anthony Salvin (1799-1881), to which the building owes its present appearance. Dunster castle remained in the ownership of the Luttrell family for 18 generations, until the property was given to the National Trust in 1976.

The accompanying article to this 1798 engraving (advertised on the front page of the periodical), read:

"It [the Castle] stands on a hill, and is a beautiful structure, though built in the ancient manner. And of this edifice our View is North West, the best calculated to shew its form and beauty.
[...]

The Castle commands an extensive View over the Bristol Channel into Wales. The Park is four miles in circumference, and well stocked with deer. The present possessor, John Fownes Luttrell, esq., is Representative for the Borough of Minehead."

The perspective of the piece and the burred copper-plate technique affords the scene a degree of picturesque beauty, anticipating the later renovations which would enhance its Gothic qualities. The article and the engraving also appeared at a time in which country houses, previously the private residences of the landed gentry, were being approached with increased interest (the small figures to the left of the piece here indicate this sense of curiosity). Indeed, by 1816, Dunster Castle would be opened up to the public. 

Samuel Rawle (1775-1860), the engraver of the piece, produced several engravings for The European Magazine and The Gentleman's Magazine, and was frequently employed to work on topographical publications of note. He also exhibited landscape paintings at the Royal Academy exhibitions of 1801 and 1806. This print, however, was one of his first for the publication, anticipating the flourish of his career.

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