David Pennant Peel Tower Ruin

An original 18th-century watercolour painting, David Pennant, Peel Tower Ruin.

An interesting and rare watercolour by David Pennant (1763–1841), son of the famed naturalist and antiquarian Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), of Downing, Flintshire, North Wales.

Thomas Pennant is known in particular for his celebrated writing on aspects of zoology, such as British Zoology, the History of Quadrupeds, Arctic Zoology and Indian Zoology, and for the ambitious scope of his illustrated travelogues on Britain and further afield, despite never travelling beyond continental Europe.

These books were extremely popular amongst the British reading public and introduced places that were little known to them. In the late 18th century Scotland was a relatively unexplored country and not previously visited by a naturalist. In 1771 and 1774 he published accounts of two Scottish tours, in which he related in detail the route, the scenery, the habits and activities of the people he met, their customs and superstitions and the wildlife encountered. He travelled on horseback accompanied by his Welsh servant and draughtsman, Moses Griffith (1747–1819), who produced sketches to later work up into illustrations for the books. Later he made various excursions in North Wales and published their accounts in 1778, 1781 and 1783.

David Pennant followed in his father's footsteps and was involved in some of his tours and publications, including the final edition of the seminal 'British Zoology' which he revised and published in 1812 after his father's death. David's travels on the continent 1785–92 also provided source material for Thomas Pennant who in his old age had ceased to travel himself.

David Pennant's drawing style in the present painting resembles that of Moses Griffith. The location is difficult to identify but the simplicity of the structure and its isolation suggests that it is possibly one of the defensive peel houses (small fortified keeps or tower houses) built along the English and Scottish borders between the mid-14th century and about 1600. The tower is clearly on high ground, above a bubbling spring; the verso is inscribed 'Source of the [?]'.

There is a zoological drawing attributed to David Pennant in The Morgan Library & Museum, New York.

Watercolour wash on thin card.