Guisborough Priory - 1801 by Thomas Girtin National Gallery of Scotland Guisborough priory was founded by Robert de Brus in 1119 and was home to Augustinian monks. The large church was demolished after the reformation, but one huge gable wall still stands. This photo shows all that remains of the Priory. The end of the great church was kept as a "folly" by the following generations. There is evidence of earlier use of this site. In the excavation of 1985, the remains of Saxon buildings were found under what is left of the Priory. Thomas Girtin (18 February 1775 - 9 November 1802), was an English painter and etcher, who played a key role in establishing watercolour as a reputable art form. He was born in Southwark, London, the son of a well-to-do brushmaker of Huguenot descent. Girtin learnt drawing as a boy, and was apprenticed to Edward Dayes (1763-1804), a topographical watercolourist. He is believed to have served out his seven year term. While still a youth Girtin became friends with J. M. W. Turner and two teenagers were employed to colour prints with watercolour, which was the main use of the medium at that time. Girtin exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1794. His architectural and topographical sketches and drawings soon established his reputation, his use of watercolour for landscapes being such as to give him the credit of having created modern water-colour painting. ?006 TopFoto