The Grand Tour (1824-1833)
The Goodwood Estate, Chichester
Ancestral Seat of the Dukes of Richmond, where Mary Bennet was raised
St. George’s Hanover Square
Fashionable London church where William Light and Mary Bennet were married 17 October 1824.
[Thomas Girtin 1795 ]
Gardens of the Palais Royal, Paris
Covered galleries that became a fashionable spot for boutiques, eateries, gambling houses and circus entertainments for the rich.
[Theodor Hoffbauer c. 1825]
A View of the Roman Forum c.1760
William and Mary used Piranesi’s guidebook to explore and sketch the ancient ruins of Rome
[The Roman Forum: Giovanni Battista Piranesi]
Palazzo near the Spanish Steps, Rome
Charming watercolour of their residence in Rome; Mary and William took rooms in this palazzo for several months 1824-5
[Artist: William Light 1825]
La Fenice Opera House, Venice
Mary had a passion for opera and theatre. William was fascinated by the artworks of the Greats. Venice took their breath away.
[Artist unknown 1829]
The Temple of Venus with Vesuvius in distance
William was fascinated by Pompeii and visited it several times. His sketches have sadly not survived.
[Charles Mazois ‘Les Ruines de Pompeii’ 1824-38]
The Gulnare
William purchased the brig in 1827 during a brief return to England. The couple lived mostly aboard the yacht from 1827-30.
[artist: William Light c. 1829]
A view of Interlaken
William and Mary spent several months in Switzerland 1826-7 in a humble pension in Interlaken, which they described as the cleanest place they had ever been with the most honest and friendly people. The food, however –though wholesome– was rather plain for their tastes and the beds were hard!
[Image: artist’s name illegible. Dated 1821]
A view of Greece, possibly Kefalonia 1830
William and Mary spent some time based in Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian islands, sailing around the Greek islands. They ventured even as far as the coast of Smyrna, Turkey, which was particularly dangerous at that time of the Greek War of Independence. Charles Napier, William’s friend, was governor of Kefalonia 1822-30 . He supported the Greeks in their struggle against the Ottoman Empire.
[A sketch in one of William Light’s surviving journals]