30 Mar

File:The Schooner 'Edith' by Thomas Chidgey.jpg

Information about painter, Capt Thomas Chidgey.
← Older revision
Revision as of 16:20, 30 March 2013
Line 8:
Line 8:

The 'Edith' traded regularly to Gloucester in the 1890s, and was one of the vessels used in the salt trade. She was a three-masted wooden schooner of 98 tons, built at Padstow in 1865. She was a fairly frequent visitor to Gloucester and may at one time have been owned by a local ship-broker. She was reportedly destroyed by fire in Glasgow in 1914}}

The 'Edith' traded regularly to Gloucester in the 1890s, and was one of the vessels used in the salt trade. She was a three-masted wooden schooner of 98 tons, built at Padstow in 1865. She was a fairly frequent visitor to Gloucester and may at one time have been owned by a local ship-broker. She was reportedly destroyed by fire in Glasgow in 1914}}

|Source =Photograph of original.

|Source =Photograph of original.
−
|Author =Thomas Chidgey
+
|Author =Capt. Thomas Chidgey. Born Watchet, Somerset 1855 - 1926. Thomas Chidgey was from a long established Somerset based family involved in the coasting trade in Watchet during 1800-1926. He was sent to work at sea as a young boy and in his spare time taught himself how to paint. His greatest joy was to paint a portrait of a ship, at sea, in full sail. After his marriage to Ms Wedlake, he received four ships from his father-in-law as a wedding gift. He later became the proud father of 6 children and continued to paint and to sail with his crew. Capt Thomas Chidgey offered each ship owner the opportunity to own a painting of their own ship. He never was paid a big commission for his work and sometimes would work for free if the owner supplied the canvass and pain. As a result, nearly all the unique sailing ships found in Watchet harbour were portrayed on canvas. Thomas Chidgey's ability to illustrate all the intricate rigging and sail structure of the various craft was due to not only his skill as a painter but from first hand knowledge as a sea captain. His colourful collection of schooners, ketches and smacks provide a valuable record of the ships that worked in Watchet Harbour during the latter part of 19th Century. He also captured on canvass some of the important historical events such as the Great Storm of 1900 that wiped out the Watchet Harbour and destroyed many ships.

|Date =1890–1900

|Date =1890–1900

|Permission ={{PD-Old}}

|Permission ={{PD-Old}}

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:The_Schooner_%27Edith%27_by_Thomas_Chidgey.jpg&diff=93608097&oldid=90275975