JOSEPH DAKIN
A Redhill Artist

Joseph Dakin		 On the 'People of 117' page of this website The following information about Joseph Dakin is given: -
Joseph Dakin Lived at Beaufort House, Upper Bridge Road, Redhill. In 1883 a Mr J.Dakin of Upper Bridge Road had two landscape paintings accepted by the Royal Academy but they were not hung due to lack of space.

Mr Sean Hawkins kindly provided this additional information: - 'This artist did have pictures exhibited at the Royal Academy and many other important galleries. He was a landscape artist and two pictures I have found listed are entitled 'Old Sandpit' and 'On Reigate Heath'. A Miss Sylvia Dakin, also a landscape artist in London in 1893: possibly a daughter'.

This had been on the webpage for some time when Mr Bruce Banham sent in the following (edited) email: -
I lived with my parents at Highlands, Blackstones, Redhill Common, Redhill from around 1958 to 1967. During this time my parents bought a J Dakin oil picture depicting a river scene with a weeping willow on the right of the picture and ducks in the foreground. Three weeks ago I moved to France and during all this time the Dakin picture has miraculously survived and is at present hung on the wall in the utility room of my new home in France. I am interested in your comments with regard to the above.

An image of the picture concerned was attached and appears below.
 
At first glance this looked to be what is now the lower of the two Earlswood lakes, painted before the upper lake was created. The roofs in the distance would be those on the cottages in the 'Rounabout', a group of homes on the common that are no longer there.
In order to get a little more information I put an article into the 'Yesteryear' section of the local newspaper, the Surrey Mirror, asking for information. This produced a result. A painting entitled 'Wray Common Evening' by Joseph Dakin turned out to be in the possession of Mr John Childs of Kingswood.and is shown here below.
The following week this article appeared in the Surrey Mirror.

The 1879 'Pond at Earlswood' picture referred to would seem to be the one in the possession of Mr Banham.

And the 'Reigate Hills from Wray Common' painting could be the one owned by mr Childs, even though the title has changed slightly.
 

Then, the Surrey Mirror of 24th January 2008 published the article shown on the right.

So what is there left to discover? Well, plenty, probably. Such as what happened to Joseph Dakin? Did he have a family? Did he become wealthy? Is he buried locally? What other lanscapes did he paint? These and other questions may be answered in time.

Note
It would seem that the part of Bridge Road between the bridge and Grovehill Road has alternated between being a part of Lower Bridge Road and a part of Upper Bridge Road. Early street directories show Lower Bridge Road extending from Redhill High Street (which it no longer does) to Grovehill Road at a time when the houses had names but not numbers.
Early in the 20th century the numbering system included all of the road as far as Grovehill Road with Lower Bridge Road. After Grovehill Road numbers started again for Upper Bridge Road.
Then in the 1990s Mr Bachelor of the first house after the bridge queried the numbering system with the result that it was adjusted to finish numbers for Lower Bridge Road at the bridge and to start numbering Upper Bridge Road immediately after the bridge.
This meant that No.4 Upper Bridge Road (where I used to live as a child) became no.10 and all the other houses were similarly altered, and that the part of the road below Grovehill Road became 'Lower' once more.
AJM.

Many thanks to the Surrey Mirror and all those who have contributed information about Redhill artist Joseph Dakin.
 
If you have any information to add to this article please
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Since the above was written the names of four more pictures by Joseph Dakin, who seems to have died in 1900, have come to light.
No picture available
A Rest by the Wayside (1871) A Day Fishing 1874 Summer (no date) Sheep in an Extensive Landscape
       
This is a page on Alan Moore's website www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk
       
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