Plate, 'Stone Byers' Fall of the Clyde', from the Scottish Scenery service, H&R Daniel, 1845

Depicts Stonebyres Falls, a waterfall of the River Clyde, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the former Stonebyres estate at the site of Stonebyres Castle.

Bequest of Bryan Beardmore

This impressive group of porcelain tea and dessert wares by H & R Daniel (C.11 to 62-2024) were previously in the collection of Bryan Beardmore (1933-2023). Beardmore began collecting ceramics in the 1970s, originally interested in Meissen porcelain figurines and the Yates factory, before focusing on H & R Daniel. He collected Daniel until his death, building up an important reference collection that numbered around 3000 pieces. Beardmore was an active member of the Daniel Ceramic Circle, a society dedicated to the study of H & R Daniel originally born out of seminars run by Michael Berthoud and Geoffrey Godden. Beardmore regularly researched and published on Daniel, co-authoring several books that have become essential to the study and identification of Daniel wares, wares which are rarely marked and therefore have to be recognised by shape alone.

Likely inspired by the watercolour paintings of Yorkshire artist Francis Nicholson (1753-1844), who spent time in Scotland between 1792-1803 and in 1812. A painting of the Stonebyres waterfall from c.1809-10 is now in the British Museum (museum number 1871,1290.998). This was probably Nicholson's exhibit at the Watercolour Society in 1809 (194: 'The Fall of the Clyde at Stonebyers') or 1810 (273: 'Fall of the Clyde at Stonebyers'). The Society's loan Exhibition in 1823 included (182) 'Stonebyers on the Clyde', lent by the Rev. Dr Burney. This was presumably one of the above the drawings. Nicholson exhibited two more watercolours of the falls at the Society of Painters in Oil and Watercolours in 1813, nos 56 and 158. Another Nicholson painting, 'Stone Byer Lin, a Fall of the Clyde below Lanerk' is in the National Galleries Scotland (museum number D5647B) and bears similarities to the painting on the H&R Daniel plate.

C.58-2024