The Traveller's Rest, by Robert Taylor Pritchett (1828–1907). 1868. Pen-and-ink. Shown at the "Drawing Esher" exhibition of R. T. Pritchett's pen-and-ink drawings, held at the Civic Offices in Esher, Surrey, 31 January - 21 September 2023. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
This picturesque stone shelter stands by the roadside at the lower end of the Esher High Street, almost opposite the Civic Offices. Described as a "pretty grotto-like 'Sedilia'" (Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry 222), it consists of three seats covered by three arches. Henry Pelham, owner of the nearby Esher Place, had it erected as a kindness to weary foot-travellers in c.1730-40. Pelham was the younger brother of the Duke of Newcastle, who was then living at Claremont; it was Pelham, too, who directed the changes that turned The Towers into the building that we see today. Pritchett was evidently attracted by these curiosities that encapsulate so much local history, and give so much character to our towns and villages. This particular one is still useful today.
Above: Two views of the Traveller's Rest at the time of the Pritchett exhibition, seen from each side.
Photographs, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee; top photograph reproduced here by kind permission of Elmbridge Museum and the Civic Offices, Esher. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Nairn, Ian and Nikolaus Pevsner, rev. Bridget Cherry. The Buildings of England: Surrey. 2nd ed. London: Penguin, 1971.
Created 10 September 2023