Pre-Raphaelites – My London+

A bus ride took me to my starting point at Tolworth Court Farm Fields. I wrote about this place last summer when I first visited with a friend. Today, it was rather windy across those fields, and I was still no nearer working which field I was in, and I didn’t end up quite where I thought I would (direction not being my strong point). In fact it was a day of wrong turnings, but wrong turnings can lead to interesting discoveries.

The sun was trying to break through the clouds. I was out early and met mostly dog walkers. Underfoot the fields were a quagmire. Mud soon caked my shoes, and I had to watch where I was walking.

Eventually I found the river, and here was my first error. I turned right instead of left. I was heading along the Bonesgate Stream, not the Hogsmill. If I had followed that track I would have ended up nearer Chessington. There is nothing wrong with Chessington. In fact, I have crossed the Bonesgate on a previous walk through Chessington and Ashtead a couple of years ago. But this wasn’t my plan today. So retraced my steps. But before I move on I will tell you a little about the Bonesgate Stream. One part of it rises in Horton Country Park and the other in Chessington Wood. It joins the Hogsmill at Tolworth Court Farm. The Hogsmill is, of course, a tributary of the River Thames, and it meets the Thames at Kingston at Clattern Bridge, built in 1175, and is one of the oldest bridges in England.

Back on the right track I found where the two rivers meet and followed the Hogsmill. Again, I thought I knew where I was and where I would come out. But no! I have walked this river before in two sections in the past – Toworth to the source at Ewell, and Tolworth to Kingston where it feeds into the Thames – yet none of it seemed familiar!

I came out on a dual carriageway and crossed over by the lights. It took me a little while to locate the way back to the path, but from the bridge (which turnes out to be Tolworth Court Bridge!) there is an excellent view of the river.

This was a lovely path, and I was following a group of walkers who had probably walked from Ewell.

I thought this was a bridge at first but there is a pipe running over the river.

By now the sun was out and, being more sheltered, I wasn’t buffeted by the wind. On this stretch it passes by Surbiton Raceway (GoKarts), and I felt this section was familiar.

And here was my second confusion. The path ended on a main road with the Hogsmill Pub on the corner. I crossed, but it wasn’t long before I realised I was walking away from the river. I doubled back and consulted Google Maps. The only way to follow the river was to walk along the main road. The road had no pavement either side. It is a twisty turny road, and I felt rather unsafe walking along it. On the left Wimpey Homes are building new houses and apartments. Twice I came off and walked down pathways hoping to get back to the river. One turning led only to a health club, and the other was a private road, but at least there were some gorgeous ponies in a field to make friends with.

I finally found the path back to the river and saw my second heron of the day. Trying to take a photo of it proved difficult. Only my bridge camera could get that close, but even that refused to focus on anything but the foilage around it! And then it flew. Below is the best shot (nothing to write home about!)

I was now definitely on familiar ground and walking across Six Acre Meadow. This is famous for John Millais‘s painting Ophelia. The setting is here, though the model for Ophelia (Lizzie Siddel) was painted in a house lying in a bath of water lit by candles to try and keep her warm. That didn’t work. She got hypothermia!

I recenty found out that another Pre-Raphaelite painter, William Holman Hunt, also painted here. There is a great booklet that can be bought from Kingston Museum all about the Hogsmill River and the link to the Pre-Raphaelite artists.

Under the railway bridge by The Hogsmill RIver

I was on the final stretch I had planned for today. My exit point was St John’s Church, Old Malden. But before we leave this lovely river behind, I would like to direct you to the excellent website of Paul Talling where you can find the history of this river and some lovely photos of the whole route. Do take a look.

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.

This is where the painting is said to have been done (just right of the board in the top picture)

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.