This book offers a wide-ranging and accurate survey of British travellers in Seville from the early eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Well-known characters such as the poet Lord Byron, the artist David Roberts and the Hispanophile par excellence, Richard Ford, appear alongside other figures identified here for the first time, who represent a greater diversity of journeyer in terms of gender, age, social class, and heritage than has traditionally been recognised. The catalogue introduces the voices of younger voyagers and emphasises the experiences of women whose itineraries and adventures were hitherto unknown. The British perception of Seville’s rich architectural heritage is defined through an analysis of the travel literature of the period, complemented by unpublished letters and journals from archives across the British Isles.

British Travellers in Seville & their Drawings (1715–1854) is equally a revelatory visual essay that harmonises the journeyers’ written descriptions with their artistic production. Half of the 340 drawings, prints and paintings reproduced in this catalogue were located and identified in the course of the research. This fascinating artistic panorama, combined with the voyagers’ written descriptions traces the historical transitions from eighteenth-century antiquarian and Enlightenment interests to Romantic landscape painting and the Victorian taste for Gothic architecture. It celebrates the amateur practitioner alongside the professional artist, and the different backgrounds and skills of each. This volume takes the form of an ensemble narrative that can be read in its entirety or consulted selectively as a reference book for those interested in specific figures.

Martin Paul Sorowka holds an MSc in Architectural History from University College London (2004) and a PhD in Architecture from Seville University (2023, awarded cum laude), the thesis of which formed the basis for this publication. His research centres on British experiences in Enlightenment Spain, but also the architectural and artistic exchange between Andalusia and the Maghreb. He has presented papers internationally and published articles in leading international journals on the themes of art and architectural history. He is Associate Fellow of the Royal Historic Society.