Coastal Images

"Heysham and Cumberland Mountains", a painting by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). © British Museum. Turner visited Heysham in 1816 and made several sketches which in 1818 he used as a basis for the painting we see here. It has long been a matter for speculation as to where he sat to make the sketches; the conventional view, that it was in front of houses in the lower part of Knowlys Road, seems unlikely on the grounds of perspective.

Haymaking in 1945 in the coastal fields to the north of Knowlys Road - a vista enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Mary Wright, who is here seen in shadow behind the hay wagon, refers to the field as Strawberry Meadow. In 2008, ownership of the field passed to a group of frontagers under a covenant arrangement to retain the open landscape. The new owners have reverted to the 19th century name for the field, Lindale Meadow.

The house to the right, known in its later days as Bay Cottage, was demolished in the late 1960s and the site is now a children's playpark. On old maps it is referred to as Pot House.

St Patrick's Chapel, photographed by David Gray. The Chapel, along with the rock graves and Barrow's Field (Chapel Hill on 19th century maps) was acquired by the National Trust in 1996 under their Enterprise Neptune project.

This watercolour of the rock graves and Throbshaw Point is by William Daniell R.A. (1769-1837), and entitled 'View near Lower Heysham'.

© Tate Gallery .

Like J.M.W. Turner, William Daniell was a painter who travelled extensively throughout the British Isles. It is one of more than 300 watercolours which he produced from his Voyage round Great Britain, a journey which he completed in several stages. Note the curious battlements around Throbshaw Point.

A colour touched-up postcard from the mid-20th century showing the Grosvenor Hotel, recently demolished, and the promenade to Sandylands, refurbished in 2007.