Remains of Bermondsey Abbey

This drawing by C. J. M. Whichelo provides a bird's-eye view of the remains of Bermondsey Abbey and the surrounding countryside, as seen from the steeple of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Bermondsey Priory, later Abbey, was an English monastrery founded in 1082 by Londoner Aylmin Child. The Abbey took seven years to build and used to occupy what is now Bermondsey Square.

An original drawing for Robert Wilkinson's 'Londina Illustrata', this work was engraved by Benjamin Howlett and published 1819-1834. Whichelo was primarily a marine painter, although he also depicted landscapes and spent his early career as a topographer in London. An exhibitor at the Royal Academy, Whichelo was described as 'Marine Painter and Landscape Painter to H. R. H Prince Regent' and painted the naval hero Horatio Nelson in the year that he died.