Cecil M. Round Online

Welcome to our sixth ‘Spotlight Feature’. A few years ago, we were contacted by Alison Wagg who was hoping to sell an unframed Cecil Round canvas she had found tucked behind a wardrobe, while clearing her late-mother’s house. The picture was of a country landscape with a large house set within a mature, parkland setting.

She had no idea how long her mother had owned the painting or how she had originally come by it but, without doubt, it was a wonderful landscape scene.

In the distance, stands a fine country house – clearly one of some grandeur, framed as it is, by mature trees, open parkland and a large lake. It shows a bright Autumnal day with that clarity and crispness that comes with a clear sky and bright sunshine at this time of year. Cattle graze within the parkland, close to the lake. In the foreground, wild flowers dot the meadow in shades of white and purple, contrasting with the deep reflection of autumnal colours in the sun-lit lake beyond.

It was only a short time later that Michael Redfern kindly sent us images of a Cecil Round painting he had owned for over sixty-five years. He happened to mention that another Cecil Round painting had recently sold at auction – it had gone under the hammer as ‘Country House Landscape’. This turned out to be Alison’s painting.

Bidding at the auction had gone quicker than expected and so sadly, he had missed out on the sale. However, he kindly shared with us, that he believed the ‘Country House Landscape’ was in fact, Avington Park in Hampshire.

Avington Park is a privately owned stately home. It is located east of Winchester, in the beautiful Itchen Valley, set in its own parkland bordering the River Itchen. Once described by William Cobbett as “one of the prettiest places in the County”, the house and grounds (including tea room), are open to the public every Sunday and bank holiday Monday, from 5th May to 29th September, 2019 (inclusive). Groups are welcome at other times by appointment throughout the year. In addition to this, the property also serves as a wedding and events venue.

Returning to the painting, we contacted the auction house who kindly collaborated in putting us in touch with the person who had purchased the art work. It transpired that he was in the trade and, although we weren’t initially able to do business, we shared news of the subject matter being Avington Park; hoping that whoever went on to purchase the painting from him, would be all the more appreciative of Cecil Round’s work.

The seller turned out to be a real gentleman and it wasn’t long before we were able to put him in touch with a fellow Cecil Round collector who knew the area well and, who really appreciated the painting! Assumed to date from the mid-1920s when Cecil Round is known to have painted other landscapes within the area, it has since been professionally cleaned and framed which will no doubt preserve it for many, many more years to come. How wonderful that from its hiding place behind an old wardrobe, ‘Country House Landscape’ turned into a proper Country House Rescue!

Welcome to our fifth ‘Spotlight Feature’. We were approached a few years ago by Helen Ashworth and Robert Niven, who kindly shared images of two portraits of their ancestors, attributed to Cecil Round. The portraits date from 1917 and have been in the family since that time. The subject of the portraits are, ‘Commander Oswald Baylis Niven’ and his wife, ‘Rose Gordon Carmichael’.

We were particularly excited to see the paintings as they are such great examples of Cecil Round’s portraiture. Unquestionably a pair, the painting of Oswald Niven is thought to be incomplete and has neither been signed or dated. However, even in it’s unfinished state, it commands attention and depicts the distinguished subject in almost regal stature; the pink rose in his lapel, serving to soften the tone.

In contrast, the portrait of Rose Niven is complete and bears Cecil Round’s signature towards the top-right of the picture, along with the date, referenced as 1917. It is unclear how Cecil Round came to be commissioned to paint the portraits but, the family believe they were living near Torquay in Devon around that time; an area that was well known to Cecil Round and, widely depicted in his work. Both portraits are painted on canvas (60 x 50cm), mounted in identical frames of the period.

Oswald Niven was born in 1845 at Pershore in Worcestershire, while Rose was born in Kensington, London, in 1850. Her father was Major General Charles Montanban Carmichael of the Bengal Cavalry (Companion of Bath HMI Army).

Oswald and Rose Niven were married at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London in 1874. They went on to have six children – three boys and three girls.

[An extract of the Niven family tree, detailing the year of birth for each of the parents and their six children.]

Two years after getting married, aged 31 years old, the Commander retired from the Royal Navy. The London Gazette (18th July, 1876), subsequently carried the following notice of his retirement:

“Admiralty, 15th July, 1876. In accordance with the provisions of Her Majesty’s Order in Council of the 22nd February 1870 — Lieutenant Oswald Baylis Niven has been placed on the Retired List from the 11th. instant, with permission to assume the rank and title of Retired Commander.”

It appears that the Retired Commander and his wife moved around the country over the next few years – plotted by the birth locations of each of their children: Brompton, London ; Southsea, Hampshire ; Cheltenham, Gloucestershire ; Cheddington, Buckinghamshire and Norwood, Surrey. The couple later moved to Devon, where we have been able to ascertain the Commander died at Torquay, in 1924.

Sadly, like so many families, the Niven’s suffered great personal tragedy during the First World War. Their son Allan was killed in action in July 1916 – he was second-in-command of his battalion and was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. It is particularly poignant that this was only a year before Cecil Round completed portraits of the Niven parents.

Welcome to our fourth ‘Spotlight Feature’. About the time we were completing work on our last feature, ready for publication in early January, I was excited to receive news of ‘A Devon Lane’. The timing was impeccable. Having just written an appeal for collectors to consider dusting off their Cecil Round paintings and getting them restored in the New Year, here was a painting, very much in need of restoration.

‘A Devon Lane’ features a country scene from the 1880s – a boy walking along a farm track, with his arms full of kindling, presumably on an errand to collect wood for the cottage fire. The sun is shining although only in places does the sunlight penetrate the canopy of the rough lane, which is overshadowed by trees and high foliage. As such, it makes for quite a dark scene – dark, but in no way sombre. The rich palette of mixed green brings the foliage alive and gives depth to the scene, drawing the eye to each shrub in turn. In the background we see an open farm gate with the welcoming promise of sunlight beyond. Accompanied by his attentive, characterful dog, it is a scene that captures the innocence of childhood; tinged with a suggestion of the realities of country life in the late nineteenth century.

To set the context around rural and agricultural life in Devon during the 1880s, we have conducted some online research. It appears that the close proximity of available work, ensured that agricultural wages remained high, especially in the areas close to Plymouth and also, the larger towns to the north of the county. Heath, described it thus, in The English Peasantry:

“Many mid-century commentators refer to the operation of similar forces in several districts, and the following example (from 1874) is typical of many: The new Devon and Somerset line from Taunton to Barnstaple, then in process of completion, passed across the north of Devon, and necessarily created a demand for the best and strongest of the agricultural labourers. In the neighbourhood of North Molton, too, iron and copper mines had been opened; so farmers in these districts were compelled to give their men 12 and 13 shillings per week.”

Greg Finch includes this quotation in his excellent analysis of Devon’s Farm Labourer’s in the Victorian Period and goes on to conclude: 

“It is not necessary to find a direct relationship between migration rates and wage increases for it to be clear that the availability of alternative work and a declining supply of labour in the countryside exerted upwards pressure on agricultural wage rates after 1870. What is surprising is that the changing circumstances, particularly the continued rise in money wages during the ‘Great Depression’ should be accepted with such relative equanimity by the county’s farmers, especially in the light of Girdlestone’s experiences at Halberton in the 1860s.

“Remarks to the 1881 Royal Commission expressed some concern that ‘they have copied those higher up and lived too extravagantly’ and that partly as a consequence ‘they take less interest in their work and their employer’s welfare’. Labour was said by some to be ‘scarcely equal to demand’, yet apart from these perennial grumbles there were no serious and sustained complaints from the employers about the rising cost of farm labour.

“Rew’s report on agriculture in north Devon in 1895 is notable for the fact that at the well attended public meetings he organised for the region’s farmers, and at which they were invited to air their grievances, the high price of labour did not figure in discussion. Instead, attention was confined to the level of rents, the Law of Distress, the 1883 Agricultural Holdings Act, the incidence of local taxation and the conditions of sale of foreign meat. It is too much to surmise that Devon’s farmers were of the collective and magnanimous opinion that labourers were at last beginning to receive the just rewards they had always deserved. The explanation must be sought in more strictly economic territory. “

[You can read his full analysis of the period at the following link: HERE.]

Returning to Cecil Round’s painting, the picture has been painted on canvas and the verso is of particular interest. Here, Cecil Round has inscribed the title of the painting alongside his name, accompanied by the date, ‘1881-1882’. Normally, Cecil Round’s work is attributed to a single year and so this is worthy of mention. In fact, as far as I can recall, the only other of his paintings we have come across inscribed with a date range like this, is from the same period: “A Mackerel Day”. The latter, depicting another Devon scene but this time more precisely identifiable as Petit Tor and Oddicombe Bay near Torquay, also dates from 1881-1882.

As such, although there is no real hope of identifying the actual Devon lane that was the subject of his painting, the existence of the second landscape of another Devon scene which was painted during the same period, provides further clarity around the likely neighbourhood of his work.

Sadly, the painting is in very poor condition today but we are grateful to the owner for reaching out to us. You will see from the close-up image, the paint is now flaking and is in a very unstable condition throughout. However, we are told the painting is available to purchase, if anyone feels able or willing to take on this restoration project – and what a restoration it would be! Hopefully we can bring some good news of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, in the future! Do please get in touch if the project may be of interest and we will be happy to pass on your contact details, to the current owner.

Welcome to our third ‘Spotlight Feature’.  A few years ago, we heard from Andrew Walmisley who, having seen our website, had been inspired to get his Cecil Round painting restored.  The painting of Torbay in Devon, dates from 1911 and was a hundred years old at the time.  What’s more, as he was kindly contacting us from his home in Hawaii, clearly the painting had covered some distance in its lifetime!

Andrew explained that he had recovered the painting from the basement of his family’s home in rural North California.  It had originally belonged to his great-uncle Edward Walmisley who is believed to have brought it to California in the 1940s, when he retired as an Officer in the British Army and relocated to Los Angeles.  He later passed it on to Andrew’s mother and then to his brother, before it arrived at Andrew’s home in Hawaii.

The reason I have decided to focus on this painting is to highlight the ‘magic’ that a professional restorer is able to bring to any tired and damaged painting.  Hopefully it will be an inspiration to other collectors of Cecil Round’s work who might also own a painting that could benefit from some TLC.

This is a close-up of how the painting looked prior to restoration.  The canvas is larger than average (circa 3ft x 5ft) and, as you can see, had suffered several large tears across the centre of the picture.  Having sought the advice and services of a professional, the picture was duly restored, as shown below.

How wonderful to see a Cecil Round canvas brought back to life.  All credit to Andrew for investing the time and money on this wonderful project.  The restoration also features on the website:  Berlin Conservation.

Do you own a Cecil Round picture that has seen better days?  Why not make it one of your own New Year resolutions to dust off the dirt and to breathe new life into your painting, by having it professionally restored?

Welcome to our second ‘Spotlight Feature’.  The focus of this study is Cecil Round’s painting of a house called “Feltrim” in Exeter – a composition he completed in 1910.

Feltrim was located on Topsham Road, between Exeter and Topsham, which was lined with large homes of the local gentry at the turn of the nineteenth century.  West Winter Hill was situated adjacent to one such house – with the understated name of ‘The Cottage’ – which was listed in the Post Office Directory of Exeter 1895-96, as being occupied by a James Lawless.  The house was later renamed ‘Feltrim’ which is as Cecil Round found it, in 1910.

The Fagan’s are an ancient Irish clan.  Thomas Fagan (born circa 1494) acquired considerable estates in Ireland including the estate of ‘Feltrim’ (the name is said to derive from the description: “The hill of wolves”) in the County of Dublin.  The family adopted the style “from Feltrim” and the forename Feltrim has often appeared in their genealogy since then.

Noting that Cecil Round painted his picture in 1910, it is possible that the work was commissioned by Sarah Christian Anna Philpott (nee Fagan) who died in Belmont Road Exeter in 1912; probate was granted to her nephew General Christopher Sullivan Feltrim Fagan.  By 1914, General Fagan, who had been an Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria and General of the 4th Division Royal Marine Light Infantry (RMLI), was living in ‘the Cottage’ now listed in Kelly’s Directory of Devon and Cornwall as “Feltrim” (but which we know from Cecil Round’s painting, was actually renamed prior to 1910, presumably whilst in the ownership of his relatives).

The photo below clearly pre-dates this period as you will notice the first-floor balcony and ground-floor covered walkway are missing, when compared to Round’s composition.

Feltrim was later sold to the Reverend William Henry Oxley who was living at the house in 1923 when King’s College Cambridge offered for sale, the neighbouring land at West Winter Hill (described as measuring 4 acres 3 roods and 23 perches*).  Oxley, a campaigner for the Deaf and Blind, bought the land for £1,300 but died the following year leaving the property to his son, Selwyn Amor Nathaniel Oxley, a pioneer educator of the deaf.  Selwyn Oxley subsequently sold the Feltrim Estate to John Gregory Hubbard Reader, a Coachbuilder from Whimple.

The following plan from 1928 shows Feltrim (on the left) and West Winter Hill (on the right).  The Tennis Court is now the gardens of even numbered houses at the top of Feltrim Avenue.  “The Chase” is likely to be the embankment between Norwood Avenue and St Bernard’s Close.  The Bungalow (top left) is still standing, as is Coaver House which is now the Coaver Club at County Hall.

In 1929, Dr Barnados moved their children’s home for girls from Clifton Hill to Feltrim having, presumably, acquired the property from Mr Reader.  Plans to build houses on West Winter Hill were mooted at about the same time.  These houses can clearly be seen on the c.1932 map from the Barnados website.

The Topsham Road home stood between the present-day Norwood Avenue and Feltrim Avenue as shown on the 1932 map.  Feltrim could house up to 50 girls aged six to fifteen.

Exeter was not considered to be at high risk of aerial bombing at the outset of the Second World War but nonetheless, air raid warden posts were set up across the city including Post Number 14 at Feltrim house.  Following the RAFs bombing of Lubeck, Exeter was selected as one of the historic targets for reprisal air attacks and the city suffered a heavy German air raid in the early morning of 4th May 1942.

At about 02:45 that morning a 500 lb bomb fell between Numbers 36 and 38 Feltrim Avenue, striking No 36 as it fell and causing a water leak.  At about the same time a 1,000 lb bomb landed about 15ft from Feltrim house, damaging the brick surface air raid shelter in which the residents of the house had taken refuge.  Fortunately, there were no injuries.  However, despite missing the house, the force of the explosion caused extensive damage and subsequently the building had to be demolished.  At the end of the war in 1945, the Barnardo’s children’s home was re-opened in The Quarries, a house on Barley Lane, Dunsford Hill.

Special thanks to Richard Ussher, a professional picture framer based in Sydney, Australia who was reframing the picture for a client who kindly gave consent for the image to be shared with us.  Background information about Feltrim has largely been gathered from the following primary sources:  Feltrim Weebly and Children’s Homes Exeter.

*An Acre comprised 4 roods and a rood consisted of 40 perches.

Welcome to our new ‘Spotlight Feature’.  I’ve decided to start the series with ‘Summer Meadow With Children’ as this is one of Cecil Round’s earlier works, within our online gallery.  It is also the picture that has provoked more enquiries than any other through our website – mainly because so many of you have seen it featured on the BBC TV show, Antiques Roadshow!

The painting was featured in Series 37 of the television show when, in Episode 17, the team visited Belton House in Lincolnshire.  It was first broadcast on 5th April 2015.  I must confess it was a pleasant surprise, as I happened to be watching the show that Sunday evening.  As you can see from the photo, the painting is larger than average when compared to Cecil Round’s other work.

The feature lasted three minutes and saw antiques expert Mark Poltimore (pictured) meet the lady who owns the painting – we are told that she inherited it from her grandfather.  He had been given it (along with another painting) as a wedding gift in 1939.  Although Mark admitted he had not come across Cecil Round’s work before, he was clearly impressed by the painting and it would be hard not to be.  Judging from all the positive feedback we’ve received since the show aired (and it’s been repeated several times over the years), many of you are also in agreement!

As part of his analysis of the painting, Mark Poltimore noted the windmill and the five men making hay in the background.  This led him to suggest the scene is probably of somewhere in East Anglia.

Unfortunately, the BBC no longer have this particular Antiques Roadshow episode available on their iPlayer.  However, should it return, you will find details on their website at:  www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05qpg6x/antiques-roadshow-series-37-17-belton-house-1.  The feature on the painting is thirty-eight minutes into the show.

We would love to hear more from the owners of the painting.  In the meantime, thanks to Beth Oskins for kindly sharing the enclosed close-ups from the show.