The photograph, above right, shows Margaret in her Carte de Visite of 1859.

The painting (The Baron's Chapel at Haddon Hall) appears to be a copy by Margaret of one of her father Samuel's paintings. This might be because Samuel was painting alongside her at the time, but probably was a training exercise to sharpen her skills. The latter seems more likely when you compare it with the garden scene below. The detail in the chapel image is more softly executed than in the exterior. There is one difference, however - Margaret's painting shows more of the right side of the chapel than does Samuel's - but she could be working from his studies rather than his final work. Our thanks to R.N. Myers & Son, who supplied this image for reproduction here.

The lovely example of Margaret's mature work below was supplied by courtesy of Leigh Cort of St. Augustine, Florida, USA. Leigh says that no title is evident on the painting, but Andrew King has identified the scene as the upper garden terrace at Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, and in recent times the house has been open for public visits. (More Haddon Hall paintings by the Rayners can be found here)

Right: a detail from Leigh Cort's painting by Margaret Rayner.
The taper has not been corrected here - hence the more marked slant of the wall - but the picture has been digitally sharpened a little to compensate for having to photograph through glass.

Margaret painted another very similar scene (now held in Canada) of the Haddon gardens, but with the figures in Cavalier costumes. This was apparently a form of enjoyment of the period not dissimilar to today's representations of the Civil War by the Sealed Knot. This image, supplied by Aeneas Lane and his wife is reproduced below. There are visible differences in the colouring of the hall and the detailing of the wall, but all else is clearly in the same style.

The Knight's Tryst (left) recently went through the hands of Leicester Galleries, but we don't have a sale price for it. It's dated c.1860. The frame was obviously made in segments and one joint has opened, but after 140-odd years it's otherwise in very nice condition. The picture was referred to Andy King who notes that the drawing shows a rather different side of her character from other work. This image has elements of her theatrical and romantically-minded tendencies already noted, but along with a Pre-Raphaelite/Pousin feel. He thinks it also reflects what her father was doing for Walter Scott illustrations. Samuel had collected some Italian and French drawings for his patrons while he was abroad, and this image has some classical elements with suggestions of Diana at the pool - particularly the hounds.

Ellen Clayton's 1873 entry for Margaret is brief: Margaret lives very retiredly, absorbed in her favourite subjects – chiefly interiors of old churches and chapels, views of such sacred edifices in Sussex being her greatest delight. She loves to depict old carved oak screens, damp pavements covered with effigies and inscriptions half worn out with the tread of many a step, tattered banners, dusty niches, ancient tombs, storeyed windows. Her architectural views evidence great power, and "have a rough mode of treatment that seems to carry with it convictions of their fidelity." A critic of high repute remarks "We are bound to say that Miss Rayner paints these subjects with truth and force far beyond those of David Roberts, hence she is more pathetic." Her pictures are rich in colour and tone. The word 'pathetic' has changed in usage since the remark was made. David Roberts was a very successful artist who was so concerned for architectural accuracy that he used mathematical instruments to ensure it - but apparently at the cost of some liveliness in his pictures - so the comment on Margaret's work was complimentary. Margaret's art was said to closely imitate the manner of her father's - though she used more colour than was typical of Samuel's rather austere style. She was a member of the Society of Female Artists, and her first work exhibited at Suffolk Street Gallery in London in 1867 was submitted from St Leonards according to Graves (see sources page). This implies she had detached herself from other members of the family, perhaps when some or all of them returned to London circa 1864. However, her submission to Ellen Clayton that she lived "very retiredly" must have overlooked the regular summer trips she often shared with Louise, Richard or Samuel as they went in search of new subjects. Above: the Dacre Monument, Herstmonceux, from an image kindly supplied by Anne Pratt of Connecticut. Herstmonceux is near Hailsham in East Sussex, and as its parish church holds a 16th century canopied tomb, this is probably it. Her sister Frances also painted the same scene (probably following a joint excursion to sketch it) and that version can be seen on Frances's page

These two paintings were bought by Christopher Cavey at antiques fairs a number of years ago. At first sight they would appear to be further views of the Dacre Monument, but we couldn't be certain of that. We knew that Margaret's Dacre painting was popular and she would play with things like decorative details when making copies just to keep herself interested, so that wasn't conclusive. Then the two paintings were taken out of their frames and one revealed a label saying "Kingston Church Norfolk" on two lines (see image). Well, that was clear enough - it wasn't Herstmonceaux. It explained the larger anomolies like the different window at left and the flagstone floor and - when we looked closer - the bits missing either side of the tomb itself and the stone figures on the tomb reversed end for end.

No problem, then... except that Kingston doesn't get a mention in our gazeteers of Norfolk. An alternative possibility was Kingston upon Thames, but we couldn't make that location match either - though we know she painted at least one scene there. Our current view - open to correction in the face of persuasive evidence - is that Norfolk might be the original client's name. Of course, there could be a church in that county that matches the painting, and if you know of one please let us know which it is! In the meantime we'll go with a different explanation: that the client wanted an image like the Dacre monument, but with differences specified by him or created by Margaret, and the result was something quite recognisable and yet very individual. However, this is speculation. If you know better please contact us using the email address at the bottom of this page. The two labels show that one painting was despatched - possibly to the original client - on July 17th 1883 from her mother's home after Margaret came back from St Leonards to be with her. The other shows the Kingston lettering discussed above.

Right: Samuel's painting of White Horse Yard, Edinburgh, which is obviously the same location, painted in the 1870s. A larger view is on Samuel's page. What is interesting is the left side. It's probably a different period, though we can't be certain and don't know which came first. But one image or the other is almost certainly a fabrication. The missing tree is fair enough (artistic licence or reality) but the changed stairs, the flat-lintelled door at the top of them, the roof furniture... it's possible that there was another building nearby and some of its features got appropriated.

Tami Huston sent us a photo (above left) of her painting of an unknown chapel and asked for help in identifying it. The photo was dark with a colour cast, so we're conscious that our revival of it may not have the colour quite right, but Andy King did know what it shows. It's the "Ancient Well", situated in the Eastern Crypt of York Minster, and one of Margaret's watercolour studies showed that the pump (the brown column in the painting) and well still survived when she was there. Margaret may have made her sketches for the painting during a summer 1878 visit when she, Louise and Richard stayed in a house overlooking the Minster and town walls. St Peter's Well is reputed to be the place at which the founder, King Edwin, was baptised on Easter Eve in the year 627AD. The well was then built into the first small wooden church (dedicated to St Peter) and in every rebuilding up to the present Minster - but it seems that the well has now been covered by a font or may no longer exist at all. The painting above right was sent to us by Pete Lothrop of Virginia USA. It shows the font at Bosham (pronounced Bozum) Church, close to Chichester in West Sussex. Margaret is thought to have painted it in the 1870s or 80s. Many of her paintings went directly to dealers who sold them on overseas, particularly to the USA, where there was a great demand for reminders of 'Old England' (and indeed Pete inherited this painting from his mother, so it may have been passing down the family). Bosham village has a truly historic Church: it is the first entry for Sussex in Domesday Book, is shown in the Bayeux Tapestry, and is possibly one of the oldest religious sites in England. Outside, the church has high entrance steps as a protection against floods as it stands on low ground close to Bosham harbour (mainly sailing boats these days). We don't currently have a title for the painting.

Lower right: Rochester Castle by courtesy of Kathleen Arnott of British Columbia. Rochester Castle has the tallest keep in England and was besieged many times; the castle still stands today and serves as a tourist attraction. The view is of the ruined interior of the keep (the large white circle is a flash reflection). We don't have a date for this painting, but Rochester is close to Hastings/St Leonards, where Margaret lived in the earlier part of her career. Kathleen Arnott has two other pictures by Margaret - both being variations on scenes shown above. In addition to her paintings (which enjoyed considerable success among North American collectors as noted above) she employed herself as an art teacher, and set up a Sketching Club in the 1880s "to give instruction to amateurs living in this country or travelling abroad, who send two of their sketches twice a month and receive them back within a fortnight with instructions how to proceed. Terms are one guinea entrance fee and two guineas a year subscription". Margaret Rayner's signature in the Herstmonceux image. Ann died in 1890, and at some point soon after, Margaret went on to live with Louise in Chester, where they both taught art. She was in Chester for the 1901 census, when she gave her age as 58 (actually 64). They continued to lodge with the Shearings, but Chris Evans, who is researching the Shearing family, has discovered that Mary Ann Shearing died in 1908 (seemingly after her husband, and with no children) and her will provided for Margaret Rayner to continue to live in the house, with use of her sitting room and bedroom for 3 months after Mary Ann's death. Interestingly, the same provision was made for Louise - but only on the codicil. Given that Louise had lived there far longer, it suggests that Mary Ann had a closer friendship with Margaret and/or that Margaret may have cared for her in her declining years. What happened immediately afterwards is uncertain (the new owners may have extended the period), but in 1910, she and Louise moved to Tunbridge Wells, living there for 10 years until Margaret died on 12th August 1920. As with most of her sisters, she had never married. Right, Margaret did include still life paintings among her repertoire, and Margaret Geiger kindly sent a photo of the example she owns. The photo wasn't quite sharp, and correcting it may have affected the detail a little, but the subject can be seen well enough. RECENT SALES Interior of the Chapel at Haddon Hall, Derbyshire by Margaret Rayner was auctioned in October 2003, similar to the picture illustrated at the top of this page but in portrait shape. PLACES TO LOOK Work in Public Collections: Ulster Museum, Belfast; Museum & Art Gallery, Derby. Harry Drummond, October 2012.