Philip Reinagle

Wakefield Bridge and Chantry Chapel
1793
Oil on canvas
153.5 x 245.5 cm
Presented by Major General F. Wintour, 1927.  Photography Jerry Hardman-Jones

Reinagle was from a family of painters, illustrators and printmakers. He served his apprenticeship in London under the portrait-painter Allan Ramsay, and later specialised in painting animals, landscapes and portraits.

Wakefield’s Chantry Chapel was built in the fourteenth century and is one of only four surviving bridge chapels in England. As well as being a place of worship, the Chapel has served many functions, including as a newsroom, a cheesecake shop and a tailor’s shop.

The painting forms part of the Gott Collection, comprising more than 1,200 views of Yorkshire. This collection includes numerous drawings and prints of the Chantry Chapel by artists including John Cawthorn, John Coney and Samuel Hieronymus Grimm.