Fireside Hours: Alfred Sisley's Hampton Court paintings

Under the bridge at Hampton Court, Alfred Sisley 1874

View from under the old Hampton Court Bridge 2016

The three indentations in the brickwork on the opposite bank are remnants of the old bridge which was replaced in 1933. The Mitre Hotel is the main building on the other side of the bridge. It can also be seen in the painting below. The front of the Mitre Hotel looks unchanged from when Sisley painted it in 1874. It was built in 1665.

The Bridge at Hampton Court, Alfred Sisley, 1874

Regatta at Hampton Court, Alfred Sisley, 1874

Sisley's viewpoints for the above three paintings were quite close together. This can be seen from the position of the flag pole in each of the paintings. This postcard shows that Sisley must have set up his easel in front of the Castle Hotel, which was demolished to make way for the new bridge.

The Castle Hotel and Hampton Court Bridge c1900

In the following image the overlap between two of Sisley's paintings has been removed. The merge is imperfect because of the difference in Sisley's viewpoints.

Merged paintings showing Barge Walk in 1874

Pictures taken from Sisley's two viewpoints today would only show the underneath of the new bridge. The following is the view from a bit further along the Thames. The Mitre Hotel and the other building near the bridge in Sisley's painting can be seen just above the new bridge in the 2016 photo.

Hampton Court Bridge and Barge Walk 2016

The building next to Barge Walk in Sisley's paintings was built in 1529. It contained some of the Palace offices, kitchens and stores. It can be seen on the following map between the labels for the The Mitre Hotel and the Cavalry Barracks, but it is not on the 1890s map.

Hampton Court 1866-68

This building was part of the Outer Green Court. It was decided in the 1840s to demolish these old buildings, but the last building - the one on the above map - was only demolished in 1879 when the occupant died. She was the widow of Nelson's Captain Hardy and had been a "grace and favour" resident, i.e. a distinguished person, or a relative of a distinguished person, who had been granted free accommodation at Hampton Court by the monarch. The Outer Green Court is now just lawn.

Sisley moved further down the river to paint the following picture. The view of Hampton Court Bridge is blocked by trees and I presume that the white building in the distance is the Mitre Hotel or one of its neighbouring buildings. But what is the building in the foreground? It doesn't look like Hampton Court Palace to me. Perhaps it might be the Outer Green Office. Is that the flagpole Sisley painted in the paintings above ?