Basingstoke Abbey, Moses Griffith, Pierre-Charles Canot c

Moses Griffith (6 April 1747 – 11 November 1819) was a Welsh draughtsman, engraver and watercolourist. Griffith was born at Trygarn House in the parish of

Bryncroes Bryncroes is a hamlet and former civil parish in Gwynedd in Wales, and lies on the Llŷn Peninsula approximately 2 km west of Sarn Meyllteyrn. The parish was abolished in 1934 and divided between Botwnnog and Aberdaron. The village was the ...

on the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. His parents were of humble station, and he received a very elementary education but his artistic talent led to his being taken into service by

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he h ...

about 1769. Pennant helped him to study drawing and engraving, and Griffith became his constant companion on his tours and excursions, making the drawings and engravings for Pennant's numerous works. Griffith became proficient both as a draughtsman and as an engraver. Griffith accompanied Pennant during his ''Tour of Wales'' and also visited Scotland, this became a basis of his career between 1769-1790. After Thomas' death, Griffith was employed by his son David and produced nearly 200 watercolors in Wales for him between 1805-1813. On leaving Pennant's service he settled at Wibnant, near Holyhead, where he obtained plenty of employment as an engraver. He was alive in 1809, when he wrote a letter defending himself from an attack to the ''Gentleman's Magazine''.Gent. Mag. 1809, pt. ii. 1112

Francis Grose Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Pr ...

employed Griffith to engrave some of the plates in his ''Antiquities''. Griffith also painted watercolours of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

scenes, churches, country houses, and portraits, including two self-portraits. His work is to be found in

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Works

File:Clynnog by Moses Griffith 1782.jpg, An original watercolour of Clynnog by Griffith (1782), from the National Library of Wales' extra-illustrated set of ''A Tour in Wales''. File:Lobelia dortmanna (Griffiths).jpg, ''

Lobelia dortmanna ''Lobelia dortmanna'', Dortmann's cardinalflower or water lobelia, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This stoloniferous herbaceous perennial aquatic plant with basal leaf-rosettes and flower stalks grows ...

'' drawn by Griffith, engraved by

Peter Mazell Peter Mazell was an Irish painter and engraver, working in London between c. 1761 and 1797. He is known for his fine engravings of natural history subjects, especially those illustrating books by John Walcott and the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pen ...

, from John Lightfoot's 1777 ''Flora Scotica'' File:Long Leg'd Plover in Flora Scotica by John Lightfoot.jpg, "Long Leg'd Plover" (

black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family ( Recurvirostridae). The scientific name ''H. himantopus'' is sometimes applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan sp ...

) in ''Flora Scotica'', one of a few birds in the book. Drawn by Moses Griffith; engraved by Peter Mazell File:Basinwerk Abbey miniature by Moses Griffiths.jpg, A miniature of

Basingwerk Abbey Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the Englis ...

from a unique set of eight extra-illustrated volumes of

's ''A Tour in Wales'' owned by the National Library of Wales. File:Basinwerk Abbey by Moses Griffiths.jpg, Another image of Basingwerk Abbey from Pennant's ''A Tour in Wales''. DV 27 No.30.Nannau.png, Nannau painted by Moses Griffith. DV 27 No.31.Old Nannau.png, Old Nannau sketch by Moses Griffith 1797, built by Huw Nanney, circa. 1697.

Works

References

Further reading