Church Road, Battersea

Watercolour by E.J.C., depicting Church Road, Battersea. 1887.

This watercolours depicts an urban scene with a bustling street leading to a church. There are buildings on both sides of the road, including The Old Swan Tavern. The street is the focal point where we can see several figure walking along it. On the left side there are a couple of children looking inside a window. In the centre of the road a man with a blue jumper, a red coat and a black hat is looking towards the spectator, while behind him another man crossed the road and a horse carriage approaches the church.On the right side, a red signpost with the word "HOPE" is visible over a group of two feminine figures, one dressed simply in browns and the other fine dressed in black with a parasol and a hat decorated with flowers. Further down the road on that side there is an elegant man holding hands with a little girl walking towards the two women. Behind them a woman dressed in blue walks towards the church.The church dominated the background, with its tall spire rising above the surrounding buildings into the cloudy sky.