The Hogsmill River rises in Ewell and runs into the River Thames at Kingston. The length is approximately 6.2 miles. In the past I have walked it, doing it in two sections, but last week it was just a small section I wanted to re-visit, the site where John Everett Millias painted Orphilia.
The last time I walked this section there was no physical evidence of where the painting took place, but this could have been because I was on the wrong side of the river, or the area hadn’t had any notification. I think the former is more likely as I found myself on the wrong side of the river..again! I had to double back and enter Six Acre Meadow, which somehow I’d missed!
I found my way to the Hogsmill via a pathway which runs along the side of St John’s Church, Old Malden. The footpaths are shaded with trees and there are information boards telling you the sort of wildlife you may see. My first mistake was to cross the first bridge and turn right (I should have gone left). This path led down to a new play area being built called Knollmead Play Area close to the path leading to Malden Manor. There is a bridge here with two alternative routes. I found a map nearby and realised I had missed the site altogether.
I doubled back walking under a bridge on the other side of the river. The bridge wall here had a community mozaic and alongside it a plaque commemorating the painting of Orphlia. I knew I was close. Finally I came out in Six Acre Meadow, which I recognised from my previous visit, and began walking alongside the river. A short walk brought me to the information board, and right by it is the clearing where the painting is said to have taken place.
John Millias was a Pre-Raphaelite painter, along with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and WIlliam Holman Hunt. They formed a Brotherhood in 1848 with James Collinson and Frederic George Stephens. Rossetti’s brother was the secretary. Later a second Pre-Raphaelite phase saw Edward Burne Jones and William Morris join them. My personal favourite of this group of artists is William Morris. I may have mentioned this before in my posts, so perhaps I won’t wax lyrical here about him as this is about Orphelia, a painting inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Millias painted the background detail here by the river and Orphelia herself was painted in his studio in Gower Street, London.
The model for this painting was nineteen year old Lizzie Siddel, who was discovered in hat shop by a friend. She later married Rosetti, and what a tragic story that is! Anyway, to pose for this painting, Lizzie laid in a bath of water, lit below by oil lamps to keep the water warm. Millias was so engrossed in his painting that he failed to notice that the lamps had gone out. Lizzie became quite ill afterwards and needed medical treatment. Later Lizzie’s father insisted that Millia foot the bill for the treatment. To learn more about the painting of Orphelia follow the link here. To learn more about the Pre-Raphaelites in general follow the link here.
After discovering what I set out to find, I walked a little further on in the Kingston direction, then turned back and came off at the path leading to Malden Manor.
My London+ 