C.H.Matthews - biography of a Victorian Artist

Date updated: 1/08/2023

As part of our ongoing upgrades to the London Picture Archive, we've created several new galleries of artists and topics which have perhaps been neglected in the past. In this gallery, we celebrate the work of Victorian Watercolourist C.H Matthews.

Biography of a Victorian artist - Charles Henry Matthews

The work in this collection is that of the engraver and watercolour artist C H Matthews (1820 –?) who had an interest in the landscape of North London. Scenes principally depict Hackney, Highbury and Islington, and old metropolitan Finsbury area, although further examples around the City and Westminster are to be found.

Buildings in Aldersgate, perhaps like the building in which C.H. Matthews was raised

Charles Henry Matthews was born 5 February 1820 and baptised on 27 February at St Botolph’s, Aldersgate. He lived at Aldersgate Street Buildings with his parents John and Louisa. His father is noted as a waiter and later a manager of a hotel. It has not been possible to trace a certain year of death for Matthews as he disappears after the 1861 census and no substantial work is made after this period.

His career appears to have begun in engraving as he is credited with re-producing the work of T.H.Shepherd, including subjects of such as Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace and Regent Street in Dugdale’s England and Wales Delineated (1838-43) - you can zoom in to the image to see the attibution of Matthews as the engraver ('C.H.Matthews Sc.' at the bottom right hand side).

Holy Trinity church, Islington — Holy Trinity Church in Islington, where Charles Matthews married Maria Yeman in 1846

In 1846 he married Maria Yeman (birth c.1823) at Holy Trinity, Cloudesley Square, Islington when he was living at 55 Penton Street. This address was close to the Regents Canal and the White Conduit House which he had fondly captured in his drawings. Just north of here towards Highgate was still quite rural with dairy farms and fields.

White Conduit House, Barnsbury — Christopher Bartholomew, son of Richard (a wealthy farmer who owned the Angel Inn) inherited his father’s property in 1766 and established the circular-ended tea rooms seen here. These were on two floors and had an organ room. This was later re-developed and built over in 1849 and this may be what Matthews captures later in this rear view (303347) and compare with (303325). The White Conduit Fields next door were the original home of the White Conduit Club: forerunner of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

White Conduit House: Interior of the Long Room and Organ Room — Interior of the White Conduit House. On Islington Hill, a conduit supplied water at this location on the junction of Barnsbury Road and Dewey Road. Matthews lived nearby in the 1840s but chooses to picture this area at an earlier point in its history. The tavern at White Conduit House sat beside and is thought to have opened on the day of Charles I execution in 1649. It became a popular destination in the eighteenth century for well-dressed families in the City which is demonstrated in his depiction of the Long Room. Note the man at the window smoking a long pipe.

By 1851, Matthews was residing at 7 Gordon Street (Islington East) with their children Charles, Maria and Mary. There is a hint that he lived at Hackney Road in 1858 as he signs the carriage as such in image (London Picture Archive: 303448 – zoom in), although confirmation of this has not been found. There were two additions to the family on the next census in 1861 with Henry and Louisa at 84 Britannia Terrace, Shoreditch.

The dates of execution of the works are variable and can only be taken as a rough estimate by the original cataloguer, unless Matthews has dated the work. They often look back to a previous era and depict subjects from the eighteenth century, one such example is the strongman Thomas Topham.

Thomas Topham at Cold Bath Square — Thomas Topham, strongman, performed at the Apple Tree Inn, opposite Coldbath Fields Prison on May 28, 1741. This was to celebrate the taking of Porto Bello by the Admiral Edward Vernon. The admiral was present at the event. Topham stands on a wooden stage with three barrel of water weighing around 600kg which would be lifted using a strong rope over the shoulders.

Visit the C.H. Matthews Gallery

The Angel, Islington - painted by C.H. Matthews