Waterton at Flamborough

My drawing of Waterton at Bempton for an article I wrote for ‘Yorkshire Life’ in 1976.

In May 1834 Charles Waterton had himself lowered by rope down the cliffs at Flamborough by two local egg-gatherers:

‘The sea was roaring at the base of this stupendous wall of rocks; thousands and tens of thousands of wild fowl were in an instant on the wing: the kittiwakes and jackdaws rose in circling flight; while most of the guillemots, razorbills, and puffins, left the ledges of the rocks, in a straight and downward line, with a peculiarly quick motion of the pinions, till they plunged into the ocean.’

Charles Waterton, ‘Essays on Natural History’ (1835-1857)
Waterton at Flamborough
Frontispiece of ‘Remarkable Men’, published by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, undated.

My version of this scene was based on this Victorian engraving, artist uncredited except for the initials in the bottom left hand corner, which could be those of the engraver.

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