Salisbury Cathedral Interior, looking towards the North Transept

The complicated perspectives in this view of the Cathedral’s interior, combined with the recreation of structural detail, make this one of Turner’s greatest architectural watercolours. A newly discovered bill indicates that he was at work on it by 1801, though it was not delivered to Colt Hoare until 1805. During these years Turner was elected a full Royal Academician, which enabled him to add the initials ‘RA’ when inscribing his name in the foreground. The procession Turner shows makes its way through a screen, or pulpitum, that closed off the Choir.  This was built by James Wyatt to support a new organ presented by George III. Tastes change, and the screen was later removed; the organ is now in St Thomas’s Church.