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| Archive Reference / Library Class No. | D5459/3/29/1 |
| Former Reference | D5459/3/82 |
| Title | Sketches of Fairy Land. Pl. 1 |
| Date | [Dec 1810] |
| Description | Six captioned scenes arranged in two rows. Top row, from left to right:
[1] A scene of bribery at the polls. The polling-place depicted is for one of the Westminster parishes , possibly St Margaret's.
[2] John Bull being pursued for more taxes by the tax-collector.
[3] A poor man of merit compared with an affluent man of ignorance.
Bottom row, left to right:
[4] A woman receiving payment in return for arranging appointments in the Church and Army. This refers to Mrs Clarke, the mistress of the Duke of York, who is depicted as hiding behind a screen.
[5] A nobleman receives payment in return for a seat in Parliament. The nobleman is Castlereagh.
[6] A young man literally leap-frogs a veteran, illustrating the promotion of young men in the army, through payment.
Available on CD 165. |
| Level | Item |
| Repository | Derbyshire Record Office |
| Artist | Woodward, George Murgatroyd (?1765-1809) |
| Archive Creator | George Murgatroyd Woodward (1765-1809), artist and writer |
| Further Information | 201
Woodward delt
by Thos Tegg 111 Cheapside
The fourth scene, depicting Mrs Clarke, is loosely based on an actual incident when Mrs Clarke took money from a Dr O'Meara, apparently to secure a bishopric, but she only requested the right for him to preach before the King. She had threatened to publish letters from the Duke of York in order to secure a £400 annuity. In 1807 the MP Wardle (of Okehampton) accused the Duke of making appointments , promotions etc on her recommendation for which she charged according to a scale of fees. A prolonged inquiry was held into his conduct and the concern over corruption became a stimulus to parliamentary reform.
The fifth scene refers to Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1769-1822),, who had arranged to give a Writship in the East India Company to Lord Clancarty which he was to sell and use the profits to buy a seat from Lord Sligo. The deal broke down, but there was a vote of censure of Castlereagh.
The sixth scene illustrates the abuse of promoting young officers for payment, which came to light with the case of the Duke of York - it was raised by Cobbett in relation to William Adam (Chancellor to the Prince of Wales in Scotland)'s son.
Text in the images has not been transcribed.
Date and explanation from BM Sat 11581 |
| Physical Description | Hand-coloured print. Size 378 x 250 mm. |
| Copies | A digital copy can also be viewed on the public computers at the record office. |
| Related Material | See D5459/1/93/13 etc for more on Castlereagh. |
| Publication Note | BM Sat 11581 |
| Image | 
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