Netley Abbey

This watercolor depicts the most complete surviving Cistercian monastery in southern England, Netley Abbey, which was given to Sir William Paulet (1483 or 1485-1575) by Henry VIII after the suppression of the monasteries in 1536. Paulet converted the site into a Tudor courtyard house that had fallen into ruins by the time Ince painted it. Other Romantic writers and artists would also look to Netley Abbey as a source of inspiration. Ince lived briefly in London; however, he spent much of his life in Wales where he was born. His subjects, like the one in the present sheet, predominantly featured rustic England.