Gisborne Court, Peterhouse — Rare Georgian Architectural Drawing (British School, c.1825–1830)
🏛️ Gisborne Court, Peterhouse — Rare Georgian Architectural Drawing (British School, c.1825–1830)
✏️ Subject and Medium
We are offering a finely executed British Georgian pencil drawing on paper depicting Gisborne Court at Peterhouse (St Peter’s College), Cambridge. The view records the north and south elevations of the court within the college grounds, observed with measured accuracy and compositional restraint. A small flock of birds punctuates the sky, introducing a restrained sense of atmosphere while preserving the work’s documentary purpose. The sheet is executed wholly in pencil, with subtle tonal modulation and precise linear work, and is presented under glass.
🖋️ Composition and Technique
The drawing exemplifies professional architectural draughtsmanship. Perspective is carefully constructed and the proportions are consistent with measured study; brick courses, stone dressings, fenestration and roofscape are described by disciplined hatching and fine cross-hatching rather than broad modelling. The handling is economical and exact, emphasizing structure and surface texture through controlled line work. The overall method reads as a topographical study intended to record built fabric faithfully—the kind of work produced for architects, patrons, or as preparatory material for reproduction in the early nineteenth century.
🏰 Historical Importance of the Building
Gisborne Court was erected in 1825–1826 to the designs of William McIntosh Brookes in a restrained Gothic Revival vocabulary. The court originally comprised three principal sides; the west elevation functioned as a screen wall and was subsequently removed. The right-hand range incorporates fifteenth-century fabric that was refaced during the same building phase, making the composition a layered record of architectural development. Peterhouse is the oldest and smallest of Cambridge’s traditional colleges and is Grade I listed; visual records of its nineteenth-century additions are therefore of particular documentary and architectural interest.
🎨 About the Artist
The work is best placed within the British School, early nineteenth century, and is presented in the manner of Joseph Michael Gandy (1771–1843). Gandy’s oeuvre epitomises the disciplined, scholarly approach to architectural representation characteristic of the period: rigorous perspective, refined draughtsmanship and an emphasis on documentary clarity. Although this sheet is not attributed directly to Gandy, its technical language, compositional restraint and fidelity to architectural detail align it with that professional tradition.
✍️ Signed
The sheet is signed lower right “Hill Delt.” Current research has not located a documented artist or auction history under that exact name, so the signature likely indicates a lesser-known local draughtsman or a studio/working name. The quality of execution, however, strongly indicates a trained hand working within the conventions of early nineteenth-century architectural draughtsmanship.
🖼️ Framed
This drawing is presented in a traditional wooden frame, painted black with a gilt inner slip, and glazed for protection. The framing is sympathetic to the work’s period character; it displays honest age-related wear that complements rather than distracts from the drawing. A metal hanging loop is fitted to the reverse and the piece is ready for immediate display.
📐 Dimensions
Framed: 33 cm wide × 23 cm high × 2.2 cm depth. The compact and elegant format makes the drawing suitable for a study, library, hallway or curated interior setting where architectural and historical subjects are appreciated.
📜 Provenance
Private collection; acquired from a Cambridge-based antiques dealer and curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD. The verso bears a modern colour photograph of Gisborne Court, providing a clear contemporary reference that links the historic drawing to the building as it stands today.
❤️ Why You’ll Love It
✅ An authentic early 19th-century British architectural drawing
✅ Documents a significant Cambridge collegiate addition (Gisborne Court)
✅ Strong stylistic affinity with the architectural-draughtsmanship tradition of Joseph Michael Gandy
✅ Scholarly, refined aesthetic well suited to a study, library or academic interior
✅ Cambridge provenance — purchased locally, proximate to the subject
✅ A desirable collectible within a specialised and growing market for topographical architectural drawings
✅ An elegant conversation piece that combines historical interest with decorative refinement
🛠️ Condition Report
The drawing surface is in sound overall order for a work of this age. There is minor foxing and light age-related toning in places consistent with a nineteenth-century paper support. The frame exhibits losses, cracking, scuffs and surface wear commensurate with age; these do not detract from the presentation but do reflect its period history. Please study the supplied photographs closely—images form part of the description and illustrate the condition accurately.
