Bishopscourt, Michael
Date made: c.1830
Artist: Murray, Sarah
Description: Watercolour painting of Bishopscourt - home of the Bishops of Sodor and Man. It was painted by Lady Sarah Murray, wife of Bishop George Murray (1813-1827). It was very common for upper-class women to be accomplished in watercolour sketching during this period
Sarah Hay–Drummond, was the daughter of the Robert Hay-Drummond 10th Earl of Kinnoul and his wife Sarah Harley. She married Reverend George Murray on 5 May 1811. They moved to the Isle of Man in 1813 when he was consecrated Bishop of Sodor and Man, by the appointment of his Uncle John Murray, the 4th Duke of Atholl, who owned the Isle of Man.
They lived at Bishopscourt with their family, before being forced to flee the Isle of Man in 1825 as a result of the potato tithe riots. She wrote a statement on the affair from her temporary sanctuary at the Castle Mona in 1825:
“Unless this is the case we never can remain here It will be hard to be driven from our home, alter having been obliged to lay out so many thousands at Bishop's Court which was not habitable when we came to it; after twelve years almost constant residence, during which time, I may safely say, the Bishop has devoted his life to the unceasing endeavour to fulfil every duty of his situation, and to benefit the Island by every means in his power; yet if things are not placed on a very different footing, the Bishopric and its functions must take care of themselves, for we will not live in this Island to be again subject to the anxiety, the terror, and the insults we have endured for the last six months, or trust our lives, our friends, and our property any longer to the mercy of a lawless mob, and to the nominal protection of this insular Government, powerless and iniquitous as it is.”
Measurements: h 20cm w 137cm (sight)
Materials: watercolour on paper
Object name: Painting
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1954-2303
Subject tags : #artgalleryplace