Baptist Chapel, Battersea
Watercolour by G. Yates of the interior of interior of Baptist Chapel, Battersea. 1826
The watercolour painting depicts the interior of the Baptist Chapel in Battersea. The room features a symmetrical design with two large arched windows on the far wall, flooding the space with light. A wooden elevated pulpit sits on a raised platform between two green doors, with a brown door giving access to it. Above it hangs an ornate coat of arms, and to its sides one round window in each side. Light-coloured walls complement the natural light, and the three rows of pews direct the perspective lines to the pulpit.
The image is enclosed in a rectangular framing with Battersea in writing at the top and Baptist chapel, Battersea at the bottom.
Grade I listed St Mary’s stands as Battersea’s oldest place of Christian worship, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era, c.800 AD. The current Georgian building, completed in 1777 by architect Joseph Dixon, replaced earlier medieval structures and incorporates elements from its predecessors, including a 14th-century East window.
The church has long been a cultural and spiritual landmark. William Blake married here in 1782, and J.M.W. Turner painted the Thames from its vestry window. Its stained glass windows and monuments commemorate figures such as botanist William Curtis and American Revolutionary Benedict Arnold.
medium: material :watercolour
Support: material: paper
Artist Biography
Gideon Yates (Active early 19th century) Also referred to as G. Yates or Major George Yates, Gideon Yates was a British topographical artist known for his detailed watercolours and engravings of London and its surrounding areas. His works document the architectural and social landscape of South London, including areas now part of Wandsworth. Yates’s art captures the transition of suburban spaces during a period of rapid urban development, offering valuable insight into the region’s historical geography.
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