Headington Hill by J. M. W. Turner
This watercolour by J. M. W. Turner, entitled A View of Oxford from the South Side of Heddington Hill, was painted in 1803–4. It is reproduced by kind permission of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford: it is contained in their prints and drawings collection and can only be viewed by making a prior appointment.
The coach descending the hill has probably come all the way from London: the new turnpike road meant that the journey could be completed in one day, regardless of weather. It is marked OXFORD on the side, and its likely destination is the Angel Hotel in the High.
The coach appears to be descending the steepest part of the hill, roughly at the position of the present footbridge. If Turner has not used artistic licence, the house on the left is the one built by Thomas Adams on the eastern side of the entrance to Cheney Lane, and the larger house on the other side of the hill is Cabbage Hall.
