The Bank House, Kings Staithes Quay, Kings Lynn

The collection served both documentary and propagandistic purposes, aiming to preserve a visual record of England’s architectural and rural heritage.

A watercolour by Barbara Jones from 1940, this work was created as part of the Recording Britain project, a wartime initiative to document places and buildings across England that embodied national identity. The painting depicts The Bank House on Kings Staithes Quay in Kings Lynn, capturing a local scene during a period marked by concerns over potential bomb damage and broader landscape changes. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust and overseen by Sir Kenneth Clark, the project enlisted artists to record threatened or vanishing aspects of British life, resulting in over 1,500 works by 97 artists. The collection served both documentary and propagandistic purposes, aiming to preserve a visual record of England’s architectural and rural heritage.