Sorrell’s work has had an inspirational impact on many people–from artists to archaeologists to those with an interest in British landscape and world history. We are keen to hear from anyone who remembers Sorrell, who has been affected by his artistry, who holds copies of his imagery, or who has collaborated with him in the past.
Working illustration of Lullingstone Roman Villa, Alan Sorrell. Reproduced by kind permission of the Sorrell family.
Since our project began in October 2010, we have collected dozens of memories from specialists and non-specialists (a handful of which are visible on Sara’s blog), and we hope to use this forum to continue to encourage dialogue on Sorrell’s influence. Please feel free to leave your comments below, or to email Sara with your thoughts. Thanks so much for your interest!
I first encountered Sorrell’s work at about the age of 10, which would have been in the early 1970s. Not unlike many kids that age, I was obsessed with castles and with the Middle Ages. I remember reading RJ Unstead’s history books for schoolkids. His book Castles (published 1970) had, if I remember correctly, a whole host of Sorrell’s pictures. I particularly remember his reconstruction of Bothwell Castle. Even allowing for the fact that Bothwell was not completed as Sorrell envisioned it, its enormous cylindrical keep still captures my attention. (Visiting Bothwell many years later, the site is inevitably smaller than I imagined.)
Around that time we had a family holiday in north Wales, in which in between the showers, we visited most of the great castles. I bought a Sorrell poster of Conway, which was pinned to the wall in my bedroom for some years after.
It was, in part, these very fond memories that led me to work with Sara in putting together this project.
Although I did not know or work with Alan Sorrell (I was born in 1972) I was very aware of his work through visits to archaeological sites which he illustrated. Being from North Wales, there were of course, regular summer visits to castles and I remember being transfixed by the detail in Alan’s drawings.
I am now in the process of writing my PhD thesis on the Parks, Gardens and Designed Landscapes of Medieval Wales and looking at the drawings in a new way. I find the process of creation of the image as fascinating as the archaeology which furnishes the detail, and the drawings provide a catalyst for new interpretation of the material.
This is an excellent project and I look forward to seeing the completed research.
Thanks so much for your comments, Spencer — I hope we can keep in touch! ~ Sara
Hi Sarah, I teach History GCSE. The spec is on Conwy castle. We are looking at Alan Sorrells painting of the Greathall as a source to compare with present day findings at the site and what we know from AJ Taylors work. I have been in touch with Julia who directed me to your website. Could you shed any light on how accurate Mr Sorrell’s interpretation of the Greathall is? Did he work with AJ Taylor on this? If so have you any ideas why he did not paint the Greathall as a chapel, Greathall and a lesserhall? I am also puzzeled at the chevron decoration used-
Any ideas please?
We all think Alan’s paintings are wonderful!
thanks Lynne
Many thanks for your enquiry, Lynne — it’s great to hear from you. At this point we have only begun to catalogue Alan Sorrell’s archive, and hence haven’t had an opportunity to analyse the content and illustrative process behind each of the images. Indeed, the archive (which represents a portion of Sorrell’s career) unfortunately doesn’t contain any images of Conwy Castle. Please do keep an eye on this blog, though, as we continue our research. We’ll be updating on our progress over time. Thank you again for your interest!
I am searching for a print by Alan Sorrell of
Magdalen Senior Common Room.
Any information you can provide will
be appreciated.
Sincerely
Pauline Caron
Hi Pauline,
Thanks very much for your message. The archive that we’re working with doesn’t reference the print that you refer to here, but I’ll aim to speak with my colleagues to see if anyone can help. Many thanks for your interest! ~Sara
I saw a print of a painting entitled “Miracle of the Sun” by Alan Sorrell in a book entitled “Meet the Witnesses” by John M. Haffert. I have searched for the painting many times and can find no reference to it at all anywhere. I’d appreciate any information anyone has on this painting. Thanks.
Hi Sarah, I teach History GCSE. The spec is on Conwy castle. We are looking at Alan Sorrells painting of the Greathall as a source to compare with present day findings at the site and what we know from AJ Taylors work. I have been in touch with Julia who directed me to your website. Could you shed any light on how accurate Mr Sorrell’s interpretation of the Greathall is? Did he work with AJ Taylor on this? If so have you any ideas why he did not paint the Greathall as a chapel, Greathall and a lesserhall? I am also puzzeled at the chevron decoration used-
Any ideas please?
We all think Alan’s paintings are wonderful!
thanks Lynne
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I have an unfinished painting by mr sorrell of seaside promenade scene, i always imagined it is of Brighton but don’t see any references to the town.could it be of southend
Hi,
I am doing research on how accurate an interpretation of Conwy castle’s great hall painted by Alan Sorrell is. However I can not find any evidence that this source exists, let alone how accurate it was and I would be extremely grateful for any extra information on the existence of this source; if it existed at all.
Yours sincerely,
Dan
It was excellent to read the paper on Alan Sorrell’s work in the Antiquaries Journal. Alan Sorrell’s work has been crucial to the development of my career as an archaeologist. I was born and grew up in Newport (then in Monmouthshire) and had seen his painting of the barracks in the Prysg Field at nearby Caerleon. I must have been about eight years old when I walked, on my own, the six miles to Caerleon one summers’ day to see the remains. I never made it as I was picked up by the police as a ‘missing child’! I eventually got my father to take me to Caerleon on the bus. Apparently, when we got to the amphitheatre I was hugely upset that it was not like Alan’s famous reconstruction, but a ruin. It was a salutary lesson in the survival of archaeological evidence and stone robbing and stood me in good stead when visiting other sites (and in a later career involving archaeology and education).
I worked on my first excavation at Caerleon when I was nine years old and the Director, Jeremy Knight, gave me a guided tour of the excavated Prysg Field barracks which were put into a more ‘lived’ perspective by Alan’s colour image of them. In fact Jeremy told me later that he was astonished by my questions which were prompted by the detail of the painting. At sometime around ten years old I entered a drawing competition in my local children’s library and copied the barracks reconstruction. I won and my prize was to be taken to the Roman town of VENTA/Caerwent which I had chosen because I had a guide book with three of Alan’s reconstructions: the town, the forum and temple, and shops. At the time this was a wonder as few had cars and Caerwent was 14 miles away (and beyond walking distance!).
I have recently completed a book for the Amberley Press, ‘Life in a Roman Legionary Fortress’. It is based on ISCA/Caerleon and includes the Alan’s black and white print of the Prysg Field barracks from ‘Roman Britain’, his 1961 collaboration with Aileen Fox. It might be argued that some aspects of the reconstruction are now out of date, though that would be using evidence from other sites, not Nash-William’s excavation reports. What was attractive about the illustration (besides the personal reasons outlined above and the £150 wanted by the National History Museum of Wales for use of the colour version!) was that it was ‘peopled’, and more recent reconstructions seem to use as few human figures as possible and just for the matter of scale…… presumably a form of archaeological political correctness . I am delighted that Alan’s contribution is being celebrated in your project.