What should visitors not miss when they visit?

In a drawer tucked away in the corner of Special Collections is a very special hidden gem: a watercolour piece by J. M. W. Turner.

It depicts Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire and is an excellent example of his earlier work, which is typified by his technical attention to detail as a trained draughtsman. He had already studied at the Royal Academy of Arts for a number of years at this point, accepted at just 14 years old into the prestigious institution. He developed this watercolour in 1794 from an initial sketch done at the scene.

Turner had a lifelong fascination with architecture and worked to design and build his own countryside villa about a decade after he finished the Southwell Minster painting.