Portinscale Bridge

Bridges, Landscape, Rivers, Rivers

Dimensions

Image Dimensions: 12.3 x 14.9 cm
Support Dimensions: 27.9 x 38.6 cm

No longer standing, the former medieval-era Portinscale Bridge, with its distinctive double arches made from stone that once spanned the River Derwent in Cumbria, (England) survived until it was damaged beyond repair by flooding in December, 1954. For scale, note the gentleman leaning over the side of the middle section of the archway on the right hand side of the photograph.

Thomas Marcus Brownrigg: 1824-1901

Born in Ireland, Thomas Marcus Brownrigg, Esq. was the Assistant Inspector General of the Royal Irish Constabulary when he first took up amateur photography sometime around 1864 or before, when he became a member of the Photographic Society of Great Britain. For decades afterwords, he participated in the annual exhibitions of the Society, first while living in Dublin and then for many years in England after retiring there permanently in 1877. RPS exhibition records indicate he made his home in Surrey at  Artington House in Guildford, England from 1877-1899. He also has the distinction of being elected to the British Linked Ring Brotherhood in 1893, where he was known by his pseudonym as “Magician”.

Brownrigg’s passing was noted in the Photographic Journal of the RPS:

It is with deep regret that we chronicle the death of Mr. Thomas Marcus Brownrigg on Sunday, November 17th, in his 78th year. Mr. Brownrigg’s connection with the Society as a Member dated from 1864 and he became a Fellow in 1895. He was the eldest son of the late Sir Henry Brownrigg, C.B., and was formerly Assistant Inspector General of the Irish Constabulary. Mr. Brownrigg took the deepest interest in photography until quite the last, and he will be remembered by many as a skilled photographer, successful exhibitor and one of the most entertaining of lecturers. We are sure that the Society is with us in our expression of the deepest sympathy with his relatives. (1.)

1. Death: (Thomas Marcus Brownrigg): in The Photographic Journal, including The Transactions of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain: London: vol. XXV new series, 1902: p.383