File:A 'fancy fair' for the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Benevolent Society in the Painted Hall, Greenwich RMG PY3255.tiff

English: A 'fancy fair' for the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Benevolent Society in the Painted Hall, GreenwichA view up from the Vestibule into the Painted Hall in its days as the Naval Gallery, with the lower windows blocked up and paintings visible above a blue draped 'line' on the north wall and north side of the Upper Hall arch. A number of flags, including Unions and Royal Standards are visible. A large example of the latter with a Hanoverian white horse in the lower left quadrant hangs above the stairs between the columns in the foreground. The handrail of the stairs is also draped in a Union flag. There is a large crowd in the Hall where a 'fancy fair' of needlework and similar items is taking place in aid of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Benevolent Society on 1 June 1843, the anniversary of Lord Howe's action of 1794. It raised £1000 and is well described and also illustrated in the 'Illustrated London News' of 10 June (pp. 405-06), including a list of its patrons - many being titled ladies - and information on the Society, which was established in 1839 on the initiative of Sir Jahleel Brenton, Lieutenant-Governor of the Hospital. 'The Times' of 9 December 1843 (p.6) also covers the arraignment of Richard Cooper, a Lambeth blacksmith, who stole items from a box left in store in the Upper Hall after the event. These were a large wax figure of HRH the Prince of Wales with associated clothing etc., that had been submitted for sale at the fair ( value 30 guineas) the property of Sir George Seymour of Greenwich (then a Rear-Admiral and Lord of Admiralty). The work is inscribed, signed and dated by the artist in pencil, lower left.
The Painted Hall, Greenwich, 1 June 1843, open to the public as an art gallery