Artwork
"The Haunted Manor," Clapton-in-Gordano
"The Haunted Manor," Clapton-in-Gordano is a watercolor work on paper by the British Romanticist artist Archibald Standish Hartrick. It dates from 1940 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Archibald Standish Hartrick’s 1940 watercolour, titled “The Haunted Manor, Clapton‑in‑Gordano,” portrays a small, thatched house overtaken by vegetation. The white walls and dark roof sit amid a thicket of trees and bushes rendered in muted greens and browns, giving the scene a quiet, slightly eerie atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures an apparently deserted manor, its windows shuttered and its structure half‑concealed by overgrowth. The work suggests themes of neglect and the passage of time, inviting contemplation of rural decay and the lingering presence of history within the English countryside.
Technique & Style
Hartrick employs loose, fluid brushwork that blends colour to convey atmosphere rather than precise detail. The watercolour washes create a soft, dream‑like quality, while the varied tones of green and brown suggest texture in foliage and the weathered stone of the building.
History & Provenance
Created under the wartime Recording Britain project, the painting was part of a government‑sponsored effort to document the nation’s landscape during World War II. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust and overseen by Sir Kenneth Clark, the scheme employed artists to record sites threatened by bomb damage and social change. The work now belongs to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection.
Context
The Recording Britain initiative gathered over 1,500 works from 97 artists, aiming to preserve visual records of England, Wales, and Scotland amid fears of urban expansion, rural decline, and wartime destruction. Hartrick’s manor exemplifies the project’s focus on ordinary, sometimes forgotten, places that together form the country’s cultural heritage.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Archibald Standish Hartrick (7 August 1864 – 1 February 1950) was a Scottish painter known for the quality of his lithographic work.
The Cedars, the Sphinx and the spring in the Grounds of Chiswick House
Music Gallery, St. Michael's Church, Bishop's Cleeve
The Gateway, Boston Manor Park, Brentford.
Hogarth's Tomb and Chiswick Reach
18th century houses at The Butts, Brentford
Dock of the Grand Union Canal Co., Brentford
The Bridge in Chiswick House Grounds
The Thames at Brentford
The Priory Farm and 13th century Chapel, Southam de la Bere, Nr. Cheltenham
The Old Oxyard, Oare
Grange Farm, The Abbot's House, Wigmore Abbey remains
A cottage and Trees near Salisbury
Waddock Farm, Clyffe, Nr. Dorchester
Glebe Farm, Fingest
A Farm near the Sea at Margate, Kent
Old Cottage, Ibthorpe
Pigeon House and Post Office, Mansel Lacy
Two Cottages