The Hassell collection at Surrey History Centre includes paintings and illustrations of churches and buildings throughout Surrey, including the ancient county which extended as far north as the Thames and as far east as Rotherhithe.
High quality A4 copies of the Hassell images at Surrey History Centre can be ordered using Visa/Mastercard/Debit card from the Surrey Heritage online shop.
- A4 images printed on basic paper £12 plus £3.50 postage and handling (£5 Europe; £7 rest of world)
- When you order, please ensure you tell us the title and reference number of the image you would like.
- The copies are provided for your personal private use.
- If you are contacting us from outside the UK, please let us know your country of origin as changes in VAT legislation may affect the services we can provide.
Images can also be ordered from Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 6ND. To do this, and for more information about ordering A3 images or images on CD, please see Digitisation of archive and library material.
Find the images
- Use the Exploring Surrey Past website - Search for "Hassell" and a place name in the "search" box at the top right of the screen, or view the galleries.
John Hassell
John Hassell (1767-1825) is remembered today as a watercolour painter, engraver and drawing master. He was born in 1767, perhaps in Wales, and first appeared as an exhibitor at the Royal Academy in 1789. He was a popular drawing-master and published several works on the techniques of drawing and painting in watercolour. He also published books of topographical views which owe much to the romantic interest in the picturesque. Several of these books, notably his 'Views of Gentleman's Seats Adjacent to London' (1804-1805), 'Picturesque Rides and Walks within Thirty Miles of the British Metropolis' (1817-1818) and 'Excursions of Pleasure' (1823) show Hassell's deep interest in Surrey which was to take him to most parts of the county and result in at least 750 watercolour views of churches, houses and other buildings of architectural or historical interest which he found. They provide a superb glimpse of the county's architecture over two centuries ago before the face of Surrey was transformed by the coming of the railway.
Hassell's work was popular with gentlemen who collected drawings and watercolours to 'extra-illustrate' their copies of Owen Manning and William Bray's 'History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey', 3 vols (1804-1814). Robert Barclay's collection of Surrey illustrations includes over 500 original watercolours by John Hassell and his son, Edward. Edward Hassell continued with similar drawings in a different technique until 1832. He was more interested in the interior of churches and in more modern buildings than his father. He died in 1852.
For further information relating to John and Edward Hassell, together with an analysis of their artistic style, the materials they used and a list of the work they produced, see 'A Catalogue of Pictures of Surrey and Elsewhere by John Hassell (1767-1825) and his son Edward (1811-1852)' by J C Batley and G P Moss, Surrey Archaeological Collections, vol 75 (1984).
Images
- Watercolour of All Saints church Banstead from the north east, by John Hassell, 1823. SHC ref 4348/2/78/1
- Watercolour of Kew New Palace by John Hassell, 1824. SHC ref 4348/5/2/2
