Saltwell Dene, Saltwell Park (watercolour on paper)

Richardson, Thomas Miles (Snr.) drawing, watercolour on paper (grey, on card), entitled Saltwell Dene, Saltwell Park, by the artist Thomas Miles Richardson (Snr.) This early view of Saltwell Dene at Gateshead shows the small stream that flows through the dene, with the footbridge across it. The land was later bought by the stained-glass manufacturer William Wailes, who built his house Saltwell Towers near the dene. The land became a public park when it was sold to Gateshead Corporation in 1876. It takes its name from a well named the Salt Well. The soft browns and greens of the scene are characteristic of views by Thomas Miles Richardson, Senior. He was the leading landscape painter in Newcastle in the early 19th century.