Henry Harpur – JMW Turner’s Cousin and Lawyer (Part 1)
Researching JMW Turner’s cousin, Henry Harpur, is complicated by the fact that he was Henry Harpur lV. Henry Harpur l was a solicitor who rented a house in Islington to Turner’s grandparents, William and Sarah Marshall. Their daughter Sarah married the landlord’s son, Henry Harpur ll. Sarah was the sister of Turner’s mother, Mary.
Henry Harpur ll left London to become vicar of St Giles, Tonbridge, from 1756 to 1791. Turner is believed to have stayed with Harpur during his summer holidays and on one visit painted a scene of Tonbridge Castle.
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 'Tonbridge Castle, Kent'. Grey and blue wash over graphite, on paper. 1794. Accession Number: 1588 Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Harpur’s son, Henry Harpur lll, returned to London, where he became a successful lawyer in Westminster, in partnership with a baronet. He married Elizabeth Lambert at St Giles, Camberwell, on 21 October 1800; by this time the couple already had three children. Their son, Henry Harpur lV, was probably born on 18 June 1791 and baptised at Christ Church, Southwark on 1 January 1792; he also entered the legal profession. Despite the sixteen years’ difference in their ages, he and Turner had a close personal and professional relationship for nearly 50 years.
Painting of Henry Harpur lV - Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Art Collection
Henry married Eleanor Watkins on 11 May 1810 at Christ Church, Southwark and they set up house in Lambeth. Eleanor was nine years older than Henry.
In 1820, Henry acted for himself and Turner in the challenge to their uncle Joseph Marshall’s will and, as a result, he became the owner of two properties in Wapping: numbers 9 and 10 New Crane, at the southern end of New Gravel Lane (now Garnet Street).
Henry and Eleanor accompanied Turner in 1840 on his trip to Venice, as far as Bregenz on the Rhine. Leaving Turner, they next visited the Swiss Alps and then went south, via the lakes, to Italy, ending up in Milan. While Turner was in Venice, Eleanor and Henry wrote to him, enthusing about the scenery in the Alps. This may well have influenced Turner’s decision to visit Switzerland the following year.
Death notice for Eleanor Harpur Morning Herald (London) 25 June 1846 British Newspaper Archive
Eleanor Harpur died on 24 June 1846, aged 64. She and Henry had no children. On 22 December 1848, Henry married a widow, Amelia Stubbs, née Cotterell, at St James Westminster.
Henry retired as a solicitor in 1849 but still took care of Turner’s affairs and remained a close personal friend. When Turner’s housekeeper, Hannah Danby, discovered where Turner was living with Sophia Booth, shortly before his death, it was Henry whom she informed of his whereabouts. Hannah didn’t know that Henry and Amelia had remained in close contact with Turner and had visited him in Chelsea many times during his final illness. It was Henry who, at the end of November 1851, told the Academy Treasurer, Philip Hardwick, that Turner would not be able to dine with him on Christmas Day ‘as was his custom’ because he was ‘confined to bed and had been since the commencement of October’.
Henry continued to visit Turner in his final days and later told his friend, the painter David Roberts, that Turner was ‘speechless two days at the end’. This rather spoils the story that Turner expired with the words, ‘The sun is God’ on his lips. After Turner’s death, to avoid any possible scandal about his relationship with Sophia Booth, Henry and Philip Hardwick arranged to move the body to Turner’s gallery in Queen Anne Street. Turner had named Henry as his chief executor.
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David Meaden
Independent Researcher
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Further reading:
Selby Whittingham, Of Geese, Mallards and Drakes: Some Notes on Turner's Family, with contributions from others, Part 4 The Marshalls & Harpurs, Independent Turner Society (1999).
Franny Moyle, The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W.Turner (London, 2016).
Henry Harpur – JMW Turner’s Cousin and Lawyer (Part 2)
Turner’s restored house in Twickenham is open to visitors.