Wye Tour

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The Wye Tour was an excursion past and through a series of scenic buildings, natural phenomena, and factories located along the River Wye. It was a popular destination for British travellers from 1782 to around 1850,[1] and reached its peak popularity during the Napoleonic Wars, when travel (especially the Grand Tour) to Continental Europe was not an option.[2]

History

William Gilpin, who popularised the Wye Tour in the late 18th-century

Although tourists had been travelling down the River Wye since the middle of the 18th century, the Wye Tour became a must-see series of destinations after the publication of William Gilpin's Observations on the River Wye and several parts of South Wales, etc. relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the summer of the year 1770, which established the Wye valley as an area rich in Picturesque scenes. After Observations was published in 1782, travellers from all across Britain flocked to Ross-on-Wye, typically used as a launching point for the Tour, and sailed downriver to Chepstow,[3][4] the Tour's final destination, over a course of two days.

For British travellers unable to travel to continental Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, the Wye Tour became a replacement for the Grand Tour.[5] In his Wye Tour (1818), Thomas Dudley Fosbroke compared the Wye Tour to the Grecian Tempe (he called the Tour "a portrait of the celebrated Grecian Tempe enlarged"[6]), thereby elevating the Wye Tour "to the highest level of classical beauty".[7]

During the early 19th century, the popularity of the Wye and other

caricaturists (e.g. William Combe's The Adventures of Dr. Syntax, In Search of the Picturesque) and satirical poets,[8] who mocked their ignorance of local customs, single-minded pursuit of Picturesque views, and disregard for one another. Despite this (frequently accurate[9]) criticism, the popularity of the tour endured until the middle of the 19th century – well after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the Picturesque fad. Wye Tour destinations like Tintern Abbey remain some of the most popular weekend destinations for British tourists to the present day[10]

The Tour

A watercolour painting, with a dark castle in the middle surrounded by dark green painting and a swirling, dark sky.
The picturesque ruins of Goodrich Castle inspired many artists who took the Wye Tour, including David Cox, who produced this watercolour in 1815.
The Chancel and Crossing of Tintern Abbey, Looking towards the East Window by J. M. W. Turner, 1794

During the height of the Wye Tour's popularity (the first decade of the nineteenth century,

Lines
Composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, 13 July 1798"), or, if they were exceptionally rich, take a private carriage.

Each Tour followed the same general itinerary. First, tourists would leave Ross-on-Wye, appreciating the "mazy course and lofty banks".

Symond's Yat, a 470-foot-tall (140 m) rock that impressed passers-by with a sense of the Sublime.[12]

At the end of the first day of the Tour, the travellers would arrive at the town of

Duke of Beaufort, who had immediately attempted to "restore" the Abbey. The Duke's restorative efforts, which included hammering bronze letters into the brick floor, introducing plants that compromised the structural integrity of arches and hallways, and other such harmful practices, ultimately did more damage than good to the ruins.[18] Despite the Duke's restorative efforts, Gilpin remained unimpressed with the Abbey, and complained that "though the parts are beautiful, the whole is ill-shaped".[19] Most tourists, however, generally considered Tintern Abbey to be the most important and beautiful location on the Wye Tour.[20]
Later tourists were probably familiar with Wordsworth's famous poem "Lines.." and the importance of that piece only increased the aura of the Abbey.

After walking through the ruins of the Abbey, tourists returned to their boats and sailed further down the Wye, noting the cliff "Lover's Leap" and especially the Picturesque plains of

Severn in Chepstow. The ruins of Chepstow Castle were the final spectacle of the Wye Tour.[22]
After arriving in Chepstow, Tourists would arrange for transportation back to their respective homes.

The Wye Tour and the Picturesque

The Wye Tour was first popularised by William Gilpin's Observations on the River Wye... (1782), a travel journal, complete with sketches. Gilpin had been encouraged to make the journey by his friend Thomas Gray, who had found the tour to be "a succession of nameless beauties".[11] Gilpin's book did more than encourage British citizens to observe the beauties of the Wye Valley – it marked the first time that Gilpin discussed the Picturesque (originally defined as "that peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture"[23]) at length. As a result, the Wye Valley was more or less constantly associated with the Picturesque, and as public awareness and appreciation for the Picturesque increased, so too did the popularity of the Wye Tour.[1]

Modern exhibitions

From May to September 2010, Chepstow Museum held a temporary exhibition, 'The Wye Tour and its Artists', of period art from the Wye Tour. A catalogue and detailed guide was published.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Andrews 1989, p. 86
  2. ^ a b c d Moir 1964, p. 125
  3. ^ Moir 1964, p. 124
  4. ^ Andrews 1989, p. 87
  5. ^ Matheson, C.S. "'Thoughts of more deep Seclusion': The Wye Tour". Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  6. ^ Fosbroke, Thomas Dudley (1822). Wye Tour. Ross, England: W. Farror. p. 167.
  7. ^ Andrews 1989, p. 107
  8. JSTOR 2928685
    .
  9. ^ Michasiw 1992, p. 78
  10. ^ Matheson, C.S. "Enchanting Ruin: Tintern Abbey and Romantic Tourism in Wales". Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  11. ^ a b Andrews 1989, p. 89
  12. ^ a b c Andrews 1989, p. 94
  13. ^ Gilpin 1782, p. 17
  14. ^ Gilpin 1782, p. 28
  15. ^ Moir 1964, p. 127
  16. ^ Whateley, Thomas (1771). Observations on Modern Gardening, illustrated by descriptions. London: T. Paine. pp. 109–110. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  17. ^ Andrews 1989, p. 93
  18. ^ Matheson, Enchanting Ruin, Introduction
  19. ^ Gilpin 1782, p. 44
  20. ^ Moir 1964, p. 128
  21. ^ Andrews 1989, p. 84
  22. ^ Bloomfield, Robert (1812). The Banks of Wye : a poem in four books. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme.
  23. ^ Gilpin 1802, p. xi
  24. ^ Mitchell 2010

Bibliography

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