Artwork
Llanbadarn Church and 'Black Lion' Inn
Llanbadarn Church and 'Black Lion' Inn is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Alfred Worthington. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the National Library of Wales.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
A woman and chickens appear in the foreground, grounding the image in everyday activity and suggesting the church’s role in local society.
The painting depicts St Padarn’s Church in Llanbadarn Fawr alongside the adjacent ‘Black Lion’ inn, set within a rural Welsh context. Worthington includes local markers such as the church with its distinctive architecture and the inn’s sign, situating the scene in a recognizable place of community life.
A woman and chickens appear in the foreground, grounding the image in everyday activity and suggesting the church’s role in local society. The cemetery adjacent to the church reinforces themes of continuity and memory, linking spiritual and communal life in the landscape.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil on canvas, with dimensions of 39.3 cm in height and 54.5 cm in width. The handling aligns with late 19th-century British plein-air practice, combining broad, descriptive brushwork with careful local color to render the church and adjacent inn. Compositionally, the scene balances architectural focus on St Padarn’s Church with anecdotal detail, figures, poultry, and the Black Lion Inn, arranged along a receding lane that guides the viewer’s eye toward the churchyard.
The palette favors muted greens, ochres, and umbers, with subtle contrasts in light and shadow to articulate volume and space.
No specific condition reports are provided in the cited sources.
History & Provenance
The painting Llanbadarn Church and 'Black Lion' Inn was created by Alfred Worthington in 1890, as indicated by both the artist’s date and the work’s inclusion in institutional records.
The painting entered the collection of the National Library of Wales, where it remains part of the Framed Works of Art collection. It was donated to the library in 1976 by Miss G. O. Thomas, as recorded in the accession details.
The painting Llanbadarn Church and 'Black Lion' Inn is held in the National Library of Wales, specifically within its Framed works of art collection. The work was accessioned under the number PB08573 after being gifted to the institution by Miss G. O. Thomas in 1976. No specific exhibition history is recorded in the available sources, though the artwork is listed in the National Library of Wales collection and on the Art UK platform.
Overview
Alfred Worthington’s 1896 oil painting portrays a tranquil corner of Llanbadarn Fawr, centering on St Padarn’s stone church with its prominent steeple. The composition includes a modest graveyard, a figure strolling past chickens, and the nearby Black Lion inn, all rendered in a subdued yet clear palette.
Artist & collection
Artist
English painter in the 1880s–90s, Worthington captured Welsh coastal life and village scenes in oil.
