Rev. Charles Simeon of King’s College, Cambridge – Watercolour Portrait with Admission Tickets, 1834
Rev. Charles Simeon of King’s College, Cambridge – Watercolour Portrait with Admission Tickets, 1834
An unusual early 19th-century watercolour portrait of The Rev. Charles Simeon (1759–1836), the influential Anglican Evangelical clergyman and long-serving Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge.
The portrait is inscribed beneath:
“Rev. C. Simeon King’s College Cambridge 1834”
Simeon is shown preaching from an elaborate wooden pulpit, dressed in his clerical robes and raising one hand as he addresses his congregation. Before him is an open manuscript resting upon a fringed cushion, with a brass candle fitting rising alongside.
Charles Simeon was educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, entering King’s in 1779 and subsequently becoming a Fellow of the college. In the early 1780s he became Vicar of Holy Trinity, Cambridge, a position he was to hold for more than fifty years until his death in 1836.
Simeon became one of the most influential figures in the Anglican Evangelical movement of the late Georgian period, exercising particular influence over generations of Cambridge students and clergymen.
His ministry at Holy Trinity had begun in remarkably difficult circumstances. Simeon’s Evangelical preaching initially met considerable opposition from members of his congregation. Parishioners famously locked their pews to prevent those coming to hear him from sitting in them, while benches which Simeon provided for his listeners were removed. Despite this prolonged hostility, his congregation and influence steadily increased, and by the early 19th century he had become a prominent and widely respected preacher.
Of particular interest are two original manuscript admission tickets preserved on the reverse of the portrait, both dated 8 May 1836, just six months before Simeon’s death on 13 November that year. The tickets begin “Admit”, give the names of those being admitted together with accompanying friends, and bear Simeon’s name. These appear to have been tickets admitting their holders to hear Simeon preach, an interesting survival given the considerable audiences attracted by his preaching during the later years of his life.
The tickets remain attached to the old wooden backboard together with further early manuscript labels. Their survival with the portrait gives the piece an additional documentary connection with Simeon’s ministry in Cambridge during the final year of his life.
The portrait remains in its early 19th-century hardwood frame with gilt slip, retaining the old wooden backboard, paper sealing and manuscript labels to the reverse.
There is some age-related discolouration and wear to the watercolour, while the old paper and manuscript labels to the reverse show the expected deterioration and losses. The frame likewise has minor knocks and wear consistent with age.
Frame measuring: 35.5 cm x 29.5 cm.
English, dated 1834.
