SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST

_IRISH ARTS REVIEW_
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
ST. Rock, Self-portrait, oil. Private collection, Ireland.
The
work of Sampson Towgood
Roch (1757-1847) *, the Irish
miniature portrait painter, has been
underestimated. His contibution to the
development of miniature portraiture is
important, and his achievement has
been virtually undescribed.
Roch's work is of interest since
examples come up for sale fairly
frequently in the auction rooms, and a
number are exhibited in public galleries.
The National Gallery of Ireland's
collection of Roch miniatures was
recently augmented by one in the
McNeill bequest. Current interest in
Roch's work is demonstrated by the
The prolific career of the deaf and
dumb Irish miniaturist, Sampson
Towgood Roch, has received scant
attention. Here, Paul Caffrey
provides biographical details of the
artist and a description of his work.
prices fetched in recent sales in
Sotheby's London rooms. Three signed
and dated works by Roch offered in
their sale of miniatures, July 4th 1983,
lot 173, portrait of a gentleman,
believed to be Dr. Dagleish, signed and
dated 1822, oval, 7.7 cm. in height, in a
gold frame with a lock of hair and
monogram in seed pearls on a blue glass
lozenge against an opalescent glass
ground on the reverse, fetched Stg?440,
and lot 175, portrait of a lady, signed
and dated 1806, oval, 7.1 cm. in height,
in a gilt metal frame, fetched Stg?385.
In their sale of March 12th 1984, lot
128, portrait of a gentleman, signed and
dated 1788, illustrated in colour in the
catalogue, oval, 7.6 cm. in height, in a
gold frame with plaited hair surround,
fetched ?330; lot 165, portrait of a
gentleman, signed and dated 1805, oval,
6.7 cm. in height, in a gold frame with
woven hair on the reverse, fetched
?495. In their sale of March 11th 1985,
-14
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Reverse of a miniature
with
locks of hair
The 1st Earl of Charlemont (1786)
Lady Gwendoline Spencer,
signed and dated 1788
Admiral
Fellowes
Venus
at her toilet
Photographs,
George Mott

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
lot 214, portrait of a gentleman, signed
and dated 1797, oval, 6.7 cm. in height,
in a gold frame with monogram on an
opalescent glass ground with a blue glass
surround on the reverse, fetched ?418,
while the pair of miniatures of Mr. and
Mrs. Michael Milner, one signed and
dated 1792, the other dated 1799, each
oval, 6 cm. in height, fetched ?308.
It will be apparent that Roch's life,
covering as it does, the high period of
Irish miniature painting, 1770-1830,
raises two broad paradoxes about the
history of European taste at this time.
First, although this period saw
changes of a cataclysmic nature in
politics and society, certain art forms
were developed, perfected and
popularized, which for their app
reciation, depended on stable, patrician,
conservative values. Secondly,
some of
these art forms have been arbitrarily
rejected in the past by scholars as
intrinsically insignificant.
A comparison between the miniature
portrait and the novel in this period is
not without interest. For each art form,
the major centres of dissemination were
London, Dublin and Bath. In both,
although certain explicit characteristics
distinguish the preoccupations of Irish
as opposed to English practitioners, the
development of each is in a common
idiom and style. It is pehaps not
accidental that Jane Austen herself
overtly compared her achievement as a
novelist to that of the miniaturist, when
she referred in a celebrated letter to
"the little bit (two inches wide) of Ivory
on which I work with so fine a brush as
"
produces little effect after much
labour"2, a comment which has led one
of the foremost critics of the English
novel to describe Austen's art as
"necessarily accompanied by
a narrative
technique analagous
to the miniatur
ist's"3. The most obvious point of
comparison is that both the novel and
miniature painting flourished with
particular brilliance at this time.
The history of the novel in this
period is well documented4. What is
less generally known is that by the
1780s, when Roch was established as an
artist, there was already a burgeoning
"school" of miniaturists in Dublin5.
George Place (fl. 1775-1809), Horace
Hone A.R.A. (1756-1825), and Charles
Robertson (1760-1821), were all
working in Dublin in a style similar to Scenes of rural life in the Youghal
area
their English contemporaries. Hone, for
example, was born in London and had
been trained there by his father,
Nathaniel (1718-1784). As far as we
know, all the celebrated Irish miniat
urists except John Comerford (c. 1770
1832), spent some time in England.
English painters of full-scale portraits,
such as Francis Wheatley R.A. (1747
1801), visited Ireland during the period
1779-1783. Tilly Kettle (1735-1786)
came to Dublin briefly in 1783, and
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) arrived
from America via London to paint in
Dublin, during the period 1788-1793.
The American miniaturist, Henry
Pelham, (1749-1806), after a period in
England, journeyed to Ireland at some
stage, after 17786. The highly accom
plished style of these practitioners in
fluenced the work of many local
painters.
Working in a
pandemic
or non
national style, Hone, Robertson and
Roch produced the best portraits by
Irish miniaturists. Their work may be
compared favourably with their English
counterparts, George Engleheart (1750
1829), and Ozias Humphry (1742
1810). Of these Richard Cosway (1742
1821) and John Smart (1740/41-1811)
were probably the best.
The success that some Irish painters
achieved may be judged by the fact that
they were commissioned to paint
members of the British Royal Family.
Hone was appointed miniature painter
to the Prince of Wales in 1795 and
Roch, who also painted members of the
Royal family was, it is said, offered a
knighthood, which he refused.
After the Act of Union in 1801,
Dublin ceased to be the seat of
parliament, and this led to a change in
Irish society. A great number of the
nobility and gentry came to regard
London as the new epicentre of power,
and therefore of culture7. This had
enormous
impact
on the amount and
type of patronage in Ireland. Roch
could find fewer commissions in Ireland
when he returned in 1822, although he
continued to paint and draw in semi
retirement.
Roch's life may be said to have fallen
into three periods
over a professional
career of over forty years. His early
period, 1757-1791, was spent mainly in
Waterford, Cork and Dublin, with
some travel in England. During his
-16

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
second period, 1792-1821, Roch was
established as a professional painter in
Bath. In his latter period, 1822-1847,
Roch returned to Ireland, where he
lived chiefly at his family home in
County Waterford.
Sampson Towgood Roch was born
into a family of landed gentry,
established in the beautiful coastal
countryside of the Blackwater on the
Cork-Waterford border5.
From birth, Roch was both deaf and
dumb. His affliction, in one sense, was
no doubt tragic, in that it prevented
him from assuming the privileges and
responsibilities which would have been
his by virtue of his family's position; but
in another sense, by removing options,
his debility may have confirmed him in
both his choice of career and the
determination with which he pursued it.
He was the eldest son of William9
and Mary Roch of Youghal, County
Cork, grandson of Jame Roch of Glyn
Castle, near Carrick-on-Suir, County
Tipperary, and great-grandson of James
Roch, High Sheriff of County Water
ford. He is said to have been born in
1759, in his father's house at Youghal,
County Cork, but there is no record of
his baptism in the Youghal Church of
Ireland Parish Register. A source of
1779, however, gives his age at that
date, as 22, so he was
probably born in
1757 rather than 175910.
While on a visit to kinsfolk in
Cashel, County Tipperary in 1773, the
youthful Roch first showed indications
of a talent for drawing, by making
sketches of scenery and endeavouring
to execute small likenesses of his
friends11.
There is no evidence to show that
Roch had any formal training as an
artist. It is likely, however, that he was
familiar with artists working in Cork,
where he was in 1787, and that he had
some knowledge of the work of the
talented Irish miniaturist, Adam Buck
(1759-1833) who was born in Cork but
removed first to Dublin and then to
London.
During this early period, Roch
painted several family portraits. The
earliest surviving dated works are those
of his father, William Roch, (Private
Collection), painted in 1777, and of his
mother, Mary Roch, painted in 1781,
(Private Collection). Other miniatures
also survive of members of the family,
.Z,.?Ui
Scenes of rural life in the Youghal
area
painted by Roch, for example that of his
uncle (and later father-in-law), James,
1786, (Private Collection), his younger
brother, Ambrose, (Private Collection),
who later married Regina Maria
D'alton, the authoress of The Children
Of The Abbey, and that of his brother,
William, dated 1788, (Private Col
lection).
By 1779, he had taken up residence
in Dublin, in the parish of St. John12,
but his name does not appear as a
student at the Dublin Society Schools,
nor is he known to have been appren
ticed to any of the established painters
of the time. Established in Dublin by
1782, Roch had already travelled to
England, since a signed and dated
portrait exists, painted by him in that
year, of Mrs. Thrale, the friend of Dr.
Johnson. He had returned to Dublin by
1784, for his name appears as a mini
ature painter, resident at 152 Capel
Street in that year. An advertisement in
the Dublin Evening Post of December
18 th 1781 announced that Roche,
miniature painter, has "removed from
Exchange Street to Mr Rice's, 13 Capel
Street, where he continues to draw like
nesses for bracelets and rings at his
usual price of 2 guineas each".
By this stage, Roch must have come
under the influence of Horace Hone,
who also lived in Capel Street. He came
to Ireland in 1782 by invitation of the
Vicereine, Countess Temple, afterwards
the Marchioness of Buckingham,
acquired a fashionable practice, and
painted a portrait of Roch in 1785.
Although only a year older than Roch,
Hone had the advantage of having been
taught by his father, Nathaniel, and
began exhibiting at the R.A. in 1772,
aged 16; he was elected as an Associate
in 1779. He painted a portrait of the
First Earl of Charlemont, published in
1790. Roch painted a similar portrait
profile of Lord Charlemont, in 1786,
looking to the left.
No doubt as a result of Roch's dis
ability, Charles Byrne (1757-1810?)
acted as his interpreter. Byrne, who was
born in Dublin, subsequently took to
portrait painting on his own account
and worked in London. But for many
years before he died, he had retired
from painting for a reason obvious from
the statement of one of his contem
poraries:
"With a superior understanding
and much
-17

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
benevolence of heart he mingled a dash of
eccentricity which not infrequently drew on him
the animadversion of his friends who mistook
that for caprice, what was unhappily
a
constitutional infirmity and what settled, a short
time before his death, into confirmed insanity"13
In 1786, Roch left Dublin to work in
Cork, where he was living when his
family arranged his marriage to his first
cousin. The bride, who brought
a
handsome dowry, was Melian Roch, the
only daughter of his uncle, James Roch,
by his first wife, Isabella Odell, of Odell
Lodge, Ardmore, County Waterford.
They were married on Tuesday May
29th 1787. The register of marriages of
St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal,
recording the marriage adds:
"N.B. A vety disagreeable and in my mind
event
distressing part of a clergyman's duty to perform
the office of matrimony where one of the parties
is dumb, as was the case in this union."14
The Cork Evening Post records this
more
dispassionately:
"Married in Youghall last Tuesday, Sampson
Roch of this city Esq. to Miss Roch only dau. of
James Roch of Odie Lodge co. Waterford with a
handsome fortune."15
Roch returned to Dublin in 1788,
when he issued the following
advertisement in the Dublin Evening
Post.
"Mr. Roch, miniature painter, informs his friends
and the public that he has returned to Dublin
and lodges at ? 52 Capel Street; his improvement
in painting and taking likenesses encourages him
to solicit the support of a generous public whose
bounty he has hitherto amply experienced."16
The year 1788 is the date on his
portraits of Lady Gwendoline Spencer,
of Mrs. Morgan, and of his own brother,
William. From 1789-92, Roch lived in
Grafton Street, and seems to have been
well patronized. In Dublin, he painted
members of the bourgeoisie; several of
these survive such as the portrait
miniatures of Mrs. Morgan (n?e Hoey),
(1788) and Mrs. Thorp, (both in the
National Gallery of Ireland).
Roche left Dublin in 1792 to take up
residence in Bath where he remained
until 1822, working there successfully as
a miniaturist. Bath had become a
fashionable resort after the discovery of
the Roman baths there in 175517. The
aristocracy and the upper classes
provided the miniaturists with the sort
of patronage they required. Roch, in
order to avail himself of this
opportunity, had made an early visit to
England before actually settling in Bath
in 1792, as another Irish miniaturist,
Samuel Collins (?-1786), had done
before him.
In 1817, from his address at 11
Pierpoint Street, Bath, Roch sent two
miniatures, his only contribution, to the
R.A. In 1819-1822 his address is
recorded as 12 Pierpoint Street18.
While at Bath, he won valuable
commissions from the aristocracy and
royalty including a portrait of H.R.H.
Princess Amelia (1783-1810), (Private
Collection), the youngest daughter of
George III. Such a commission certainly
helped Roch to establish his reputation.
The amusements at Bath were pre
sided over by two Masters of
Ceremonies, one for the upper rooms
and one for the lower. They were
elected to that office by the subscribers
to the assemblies and balls. Roch
painted the portraits of two of the most
renowned Masters of Ceremonies,
Charles Le Bas and James King, (both
now in the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath).
The naval and military services were
valuable sources of commissions, for
example, the portrait of Admiral
Fellowes, (Private Collection), and the
portrait of 4an Officer' with interwoven
hair on the reverse, (Private
Collection), both of which date from
this period.
One of Roch's most interesting sitters
was Hester Thrale, n?e Lynch, later Mrs.
Piozzi (1741-1821)19. Roch painted
two portraits of this lady; the first is
dated 1782, and the second, 1816. The
difference between the two paintings is
instructive20. At the time of the
painting of the first picture, she had
recently been widowed by the death of
Thrale, an elderly brewer. With regard
to this first picture, Mrs. Thrale insisted
on a good likeness; she wished to be
painted with her face deeply rouged,
and with the trivial deformity of her,
lower jaw evident. This miniature may
well have been painted as a dissuasive
memento for Dr. Johnson, who wanted
to marry her, but whom she wanted to
shake off.
Alternatively, and perhaps this is the
more felicitous conjecture, it might
have been painted
as an imtimate token
for Gabriel Piozzi, whom she wished to
marry? a wish gratified only after his
departure to, and subsequent
return
from, Italy.
Indeed, her involvement with Piozzi
explains something about the character
of society to be found in Bath at the
time. Mrs. Thrale went to Bath in 1793
as a result of family pressure and public
disapproval of her wish to marry Piozzi.
Later she divided her time between
London and Brighton, and it was
probably there that Roch painted her
later portrait of 1816. By contrast to the
earlier picture, the portrait of 1816
shows her in a dark bonnet and dress,
an
elderly
woman. She gave a copy of
this portrait to a Mr. Maginn in 1818 as
a gift in a special case, containing lines
of her own composition, demonstrating
the important "keepsake" nature of
miniatures21.
The final period of Roch's career
covers his return to Ireland and his
subsequent retirement, during which he
continued to paint portraits and sketch
local life. He returned to Ireland in
1822. It is believed that he worked in
Cork, and then eventually went to live
with his relations in County Waterford.
His wife died on September 21st 1837.
Ten years later, Roch died at the family
house; he was buried on February 20th
1847 in the family plot at Ardmore, Co.
Waterford, although the exact site of
his grave remains unknown.
Roch's work is characterized by the
excellence of his technique and style,
which vary little throughout his long
career, and the superb quality of his
handling of detail such as jewellery,
hair, costume, and the overall finish and
minuteness of brushstrokes. All these
are evident in the portrait of J.P.
Kemble, (Private Collection). Kemble,
the most celebrated actor of the day
and brother of the famous actress Sarah
Siddons, also sat for Horace Hone and
Gilbert Stuart.
The features of Roch's sitters are
always clearly defined and his sitters are
particularly well-posed, in the sense that
the painter has exercised care with the
way in which his subjects are seated,
and in the way the face is positioned,
whether in profile
or otherwise. These
characteristics are exemplified in the
portrait of 'Lady in a Hat With Flowers',
(Private Collection). Roch's technique
involves a particularly deliberate and
successful use of colour. His use of
brightly coloured costume contrasts
admirably with the delicate tones of the
skin and other facial details of the sitter.
Thus, both in the portrait of 4An
Officer', (Private Collection), and 'Boy
-18

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
in Orange', (Private Collection), the
features are lightly built up; the pale
pinkish skin tones are counterbalanced
and emphasized, in the case of the
former by the strong blue of the
officer's costume, and in the latter, a
similar contrast is apparent between the
delicate visage of the boy, and the vivid
colour of his orange costume.
A distinguishing feature of Roch's
portraits, generally, is the fact that so
many of the sitters are painted with an
incipient smile, sometimes even an
actual grin. Daphne Foskett considered
this a defect; in the entry on Roch in
her A Dictionary of British Miniature
Painters, she opines "he was a
good
artist but rather too often gave his
sitters an
incipient smile or smirk."22
A less obvious detail, characteristic of
Roch's style, is the frequent use of light
shading around the eyes, but typical of
his technique is the brio with which he
treats certain aspects of the sitter's
appearance. Thus, in his portrait of
Lady Gwendoline Spencer (1788) and
of "A Lady With Pearls", (both Private
Collections), Roch's attention to the
detail of the sitter's hair provides
a
focus for the picture, and imbues it with
a note at once characteristic of his style,
and revelatory of the character of the
sitter. Such a combination is also
apparent in his portrait of Mary Roch;
there, the distinctive feature of a
somewhat uncompromising bonnet with
ribbons, complements the face and
general appearance of the sitter,
emphasizing what must have been the
sitter's endearing, though conservative,
character.
Roch's attention to the details of
costume is equally evident in his
portraits of male sitters. In the formal
portrait of Lord Charlemont, (Private
Collection), wearing the insignia of a
Knight of St. Patrick, we see a genial,
urbane nobleman with a
prematurely
aged face, and, as in the slightly less
formal one of his own brother, William
Roch, (Private Collection), the sitter's
costume is beautifully modelled, and
painted with a characteristic finish,
displaying little evidence of the minute
brush strokes. Clothing in Roch's work
is often painted with opaque colours.
Roch painted mainly oval portrait
miniatures, water-colour on
ivory; these
were encased usually in gold
or passe
partout frames. He rarely painted
rectangular miniatures, such as his
portrait of Mrs. Piozzi, and his 4A Lady
in a Hat with Flowers', (both in Private
Collections). Some miniatures on card
have survived, but these were probably
sketches for more finished works.
It appears to have been Roch's usual
practice to sign and date his work but
the signature varies. Portrait miniatures
survive
signed 'Roch', 'Roche', 'ROCH',
'S Roche', and 'S. T. Roche', frequently
accompanied by a date.
It seems appropriate to end with
comments, not on Roch's miniature
portraits, by which his achievement will
best be measured and remembered, but
instead by noting his depictions of
Classical and Biblical scenes, and, in a
different mood, his scenes of rustic life.
Roch painted some miniatures inspired
by Classical and Biblical themes, such as
'Bacchante', (Private Collection), the
mildly erotic 'Venus at Her Toilet',
(Private Collection), with its doves and
Italianate landscape, 'Mary Magdalen',
(Private Collection) and 'Salom?',
(Private Collection), in which the
somewhat constraining limitations of
portrait miniature painting with regard
to the sitter's pose, costume and
accoutrement, are
jettisoned
in favour
of a more romantic and untrammelled
effect. Of these, the picture of a
'Cherub' (Private Collection), is one of
the most restrained and effective.
The liveliness of Roch's drawings and
paintings of genre subjects is remarkable.
Those that survive are
mainly peasant
scenes, portraying rustic life with a
unique combination of realism,
caricature and fantasy. These scenes are
generally painted in water colour on
card.
One example of this genre is his
'Rustics Dancing Outside An Inn',
(Ulster Museum). This picture displays
a strong eye for accurate detail, but it is
exuberant, fanciful, and idealized, a
colourful version of peasant revelry.
The strokes are tiny, and white body
colour is used as well as transparent
water colour.
Much of our information about
Roch's artistic preoccupations is drawn
from four of his sketch books which
survive in a private collection in
Ireland. The first, dated 1807, contains
thirty-two sketches of architecture,
landscapes and still life drawings, done
mainly in the Bath area. The second,
dated 1815, contains twenty-five pencil
drawings of English landscapes and
coastal scenes in the County of Devon.
The third, dated 1833, contains thirty
eight ink drawings of sea-scapes, ships
from all parts of the world, and battle
scenes. The fourth is a book of some
thirty sketches of rural life done after
his return to Ireland and taken from
around Counties Cork and Waterford.
These scenes of rustic life display
a
degree of fantasy and wit, of artistic
personality, and a readiness and fluency
in draftsmanship, which would have
enabled him to develop in several
different artistic directions, had claims
on his artistic skills been different.
Paradoxically, this aspect of his work, by
virtue of the differences from, and
similarities, to his main oeuvre, displays
the depth of his understanding and
mastery of the conventions of formal,
commissioned miniature portraiture.
The versatility and facility of Roch's
technique, and the perceptiveness and
humour of his intelligence and eye,
explain his ability to take what could,
for other artists, have been the con
ventional and often uninspiring genre of
miniature portraiture, and to illumine
and revivify it, producing miniatures
whose quality and worth are even more
appreciated today, when the history of
miniature portraiture in Ireland is
apparent, than was the case at the time
they
were
painted.
NOTES OVERLEAF
Paul E.M. Caffrey
-19

IRISH ARTS REVIEW
SAMPSON TOWGOOD ROCH, MINIATURIST
A PRELIMINARY LIST OF MINIATURES BY ST. ROCH IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
1. Mrs. Morgan (n?e Ho?y), No. 2532, signed S
Roch 1788, 6.7 x 5.1, water-colour on ivory.
2. Mrs. Thorp, No. 2672, set in a presentation
case, and engraved on reverse: "Mother of
Alderman Gharles Thorp, Mayor of Dublin in
the year 1800", 5.5 x 4, water-colour on ivory.
3. Mr. R.J. Tisdall of Rathcoole, Co. Louth, (a
lock of hair on verso), No. 7087, 7.5 x 6.1,
water-colour on ivory.
4. Portrait of Gentleman in Grey-Blue Coat, No.
7356, signed ROCH 1790, 6.5 x 5, water
colour on ivory.
5. A Lady with A Young Man (probably her son)
on reverse, McNeill Bequest, No. 19284,
signed Roch 1789, 7 x 5.3, water-colour on
ivory.
(above measurements in cms.)
Ulster Museum, Belfast
1. Rustics dancing Outside an Inn, No. 2516,
signed S Roch 1788, 7.46 x 10.25 cms., water
colour and body colour on thin white card.
National Portrait Gallery, London
1. Thomas Beddoes (1760-1808), physician, No.
5070, signed ST. Roch 1794, 6 x 4.8 cms.,
water-colour on ivory.
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
1. Charles Le Bas, M.C., of the Lower Assembly
Rooms, Bath, 1805-1810, painted circa 1806,
4 x 3.5, water-colour on ivory.
2. James King, M.C., of the Upper Assembly
Rooms, Bath, 1805-1816, painted circa 1806,
4 x 3.5, water-colour on ivory.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1. A Lady, signed Roche 1787, 2.25 x 1.75,
water-colour on ivory.
2. A Lady, signed Roch 1806, 2.8 x 2.4, water
colour on ivory.
3. A Gentleman, signed Roch 1790, 2.5 x 2,
water-colour on ivory.
4. A Gentleman, signed Roch 1805, 2.8 x 2.4,
water-colour on ivory.
5. Captain Berry, 2.4 x 1.98, water-colour on
ivory.
6. Peter MacKenzie (1779-1839), 2.75 x 2.25,
water-colour on ivory.
(above measurements
in inches)
Holburne Museum, Bath
1. Man in a Blue Coat, No. M184.
2. Man in a Dark Coat and White Cravat, No.
M125.
Royal Army Medical Corps Headquarters,
London
1. Portrait of a Gentleman.
2. Portrait of a Gentleman.
The author gratefully acknowledges help and
advice received from Mrs. R. Perks, Ms. P.R.
Perks, Dr. W.D.H. Powell, Baron de Breffny and
Miss Rosemary ffolliott.
1. On occasions, Roch signed himself "Roche".
See generally, W J. Strickland, A Dictionary of
Irish Artists, Dublin, 1913; A.O. Crookshank
and the Knight of Glin, Irish Portraits 1660
1860, (Exhibition Catalogue), Paul Mellon
Foundation For British Art, 1969. Attention
is drawn to Roch's date of birth, 1757,
erroneously described in both of these works.
For an account of the reasons, see footnote 10
infra.
2. Letter dated December 16th 1816, quoted in
J.E. Austen-Leigh, Memoir of Jane Austen,
R.W. Chapman (ed.), Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 1926, p. 164.
3.1. Watt, Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical
Essays, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., U.S.A., 1963,
p. 2.
4. See E.D. Ermath, Realism and Consensus in
The English Novel, Princeton University Press,
1983; J. and R. McMaster, The Novel From
Sterne to James, London, 1981; I. Evans, A
Short History Of English Literature, (2nd ed.),
Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth,
Middlesex, 1963.
NOTES
5. B.S. Long, British Miniatures, London, 1929.
6. Strickland, op. cit., p. 225.
7. G. ? Tuathaigh, Ireland Before the Famine,
1798-1848, Dublin, 1972, pp. 29-41.
8. A.P. Burke (ed.), A Genealogical and Heraldic
History of The Landed Gentry of Ireland,
London, 1958, p. 608.
9. Strickland, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 293, gives his
father's name as Luke and this error is copied
by Daphne Foskett in her A Dictionary of
British Miniature Painters, London, 1972, Vol.
1, p. 476. His father's name was, in fact,
William.
10. Anon., "A List Of Irish Stockholders, 1779",
The Irish Genealogist, October 1940, Vol. 1
No. 8, pp. 237-253. This list shows "Sampson
Roche, Miniature painter, aged 22". But see
also F. Leeson, "Irish Nominees in The State
Tontine Of 1773, 1775, 1777", The Irish
Ancestor, 1970, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 47-62. The
date from which the ages are calculated is
1779. The question of the date is referred to
by R. ffolliott in a review of the work in The
Irish Ancestor, 1970, Vol. 2 No. 1, p. 73.
11. Strickland, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 293.
12. See Anon., op. cit, "A List of Irish
Stockholders, 1779", The Irish Genealogist,
Vol. 1 No. 8, p. 250.
13. R. Ryan, Biographia Hibernica: A Biographical
Dictionary Of The Worthies of Ireland, London,
1821, Vol. 1, pp. 296-297.
14. The entry in the parish register is signed
"R.V.", the initials of the officiating
clergyman.
15. Cork Evening Post, June 6th 1787.
16. See Strickland, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 293.
17. Anon., Bath Guide: The New Bath Guide Or
Useful Pocket Companion ..., Bath, C. Pope,
1775, (? 5th ed.); R.S. Neale, Bath 1680-1850:
A Social History, London, 1981.
18. A. Graves, The Royal Academy Exhibitors,
London, 1905, (repr. 1970), Vol. 3, p. 348.
19. A.M. Broadley (ed.), Dr. Johnson & Mrs.
Thrale, London, 1910; K.C. Balderston (ed.),
Thraliana, 2 Vols., Oxford, 1942.
20. Illustrated in S. Johnson, The Wisdom of Dr.
Johnson, C. Maxwell (ed.), Harrap & Co.,
London, 1948, p. 28; also C.R. Grundy, "Two
Miniatures Of Mrs. Thrale by Sampson
Towgood Roch", Connoisseur, September
December 1917, Vol. XLIX, p. 43.
21. P. Caffrey, "Samuel Lover's Achievement As a
Painter", Irish Arts Review, Vol. 3 No. 1, p. 52.
22. Foskett, op. cit.
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