Zoffany painted heroic Sharp family c1780

As well as individual achievements, the Sharp family functioned collectively. The son of an arch­deac­on, William Sharp (1729-1810) lived with his 3 brothers & 3 sisters in a Northumberland rectory, where they created strong family ties that lasted for life. Clearly the Sharps had a common value system of free think­ing; they neg­otiated the competing demands of an elev­at­ed social position with their commitment to social reform.

a musical water party on the Thames near Fulham.

The Sharp family by Zoffany, c1780. Wiki

 

The Union, William’s large, elegant pleasure boat, sailed from Kew Bridge in 1777 on its first voyage. As she sailed along the Thames to Reading, her passengers lived in great comfort with all am­en­it­ies. And the entire Sharp family gave fortnightly orch­es­tral con­certs on board.

Despite the boat and orchestra, William Sharp was not a gilded ar­is­tocrat of independent means, but a hardworking Lon­­don surgeon from an educated background. He was accomp­anied on the voyage by most of his siblings, dem­ons­trating the extent of the doctor’s pro­fessional success and his fame as surgeon to King George III.

The siblings were known by the art world as the subject of Johan Zof­fany’s celebrated group portrait, The Sharp Family. Will­iam, who commissioned the work in 1779, wanted the art­ist to depict the 7 sib­lings playing music on their Thames barge. The Zof­f­any master­piece com­mem­or­at­ed the concerts they gave on board their barge Ap­ollo at Ful­ham, when Sharps were at the height of their soc­ial suc­c­ess. Their harmonies were an apt meta­phor for the strong ties that bound them together.

 
How appropriate! Sharps were a famously musical family, who had played music together from early childhood and be­tween them master­ed a wide array of instruments. Youngest broth­er Granville Sharp (1735–1813) was skilled on the oboe, clarinet, flute, double flute, trav­erse harp & kettle­drums. William gave famous concerts at his City mansion, with per­form­­an­ces by the most popular virt­uosi back then; and the family hosted water parties on barges sail­ing along the Thames in summer. In the Sharp band, often led by the Italian violinist Felice Giardini, family members and profess­ional musicians played chamber music. To a rous­ing Hand­el overture, the Sharp barge was accompanied by many boats who sailed to enjoy the festivities.

Examine the painting carefully. Granville held his favoured flutes in one hand, his clarinet being nearby on the piano he was shown hold­ing a sheet of music. Beside him was his sister, Elizabeth Sharp Prowse (1733-1810), who was play­ing the harpsichord /forte-piano. Dr John Sharp was on the right and had laid his cello aside, next to Franc­es Sharp (1738-1799) with an oboe, in blue. James Sharp, an engineer, held a serpent brass instrument. James’ wife was Mrs Lodge Sharp, his daughter was Catherine Sharp (1770-1843). William Sharp was seen standing at the tiller, hat raised, wearing the Windsor uniform with its distinctive red collar. His instrum­ents were the French horns that rested on the piano. William’s dau­ghter was Mary Sharp Lloyd-Baker (1778-1812), his wife was Cather­ine Barwick Sharp (c1741-1814). Judith Sharp (1733-1809), music in hand, played the lute.

These amateur music­ians illustrated the transition between private music part­ies and public concerts in C18th musical life. The private world of the barge open­ed into that of an invisible audience list­en­ing from the bank to the open-air concert, a fashion set by Hand­el’s Water Music.

Johan Zoffany’s glowing depiction of the siblings was their defining image. But the family was not just about music. Granville Sharp was a  civil servant, philanthropist and a leading campaigner for the abolition of sl­av­ery. In 1772 Granville was visited and asked for help by a young African who had been sold into slavery. This eventually led to one of the great set pieces of Eng­lish legal history, deliv­er­ed by Lord Mansfield in West­min­ster Hall in 1772: the slave was freed since no English law sanct­ioned slavery. So Sharp co-founded the Soc­iety for the Abolition of the Slave Trade!

When Granville gave up his Ordnance Office post, he totally relied on his brothers’ incomes. Fortunately William was a noted surgeon. Was Granville’s commitment to the emancipation of slaves supported by his family? Yes! His political idealism began at Will­iam’s Surg­ery for the Poor, Mincing Lane; it was James’ membership of the Common Coun­cil of London that most supported Granville.

4 siblings contrib­uted to John’s char­it­ab­le enterprises at Bamburgh, which in turn pro­vided the model for Elizabeth’s philanthropy at Wick­en Park. The 2 unmarried sis­t­ers, Judith and Frances, enjoyed priv­il­eged positions in their bro­thers’ households in their adult lives. Judith actually tur­ned down two good marriage offers, concluding that fem­ale autonomy would flourish better in the household of a compliant brother. And when James became paral­ysed in 1783, 9 members of the extended family accompanied him to Weymouth for a seaside cure.

The Sharps were remarkable late C18th individuals in their own right. John, the eldest brot­h­er, established an extra-ordinary social enterprise at Bamburgh Cas­tle in Northumberland, providing free healthcare and education and subsidised food to the poor. Elizabeth ran a large estate in Northamptonshire on the philanth­ropic principles espoused by her brothers. James was a manufacturer, invent­or and canal pioneer.

 

William Sharp

surgeon

Granville Sharp
Clerk in the Ordnance Office and abolitionist

Thanks to,  and I recommend Ariane Bankes in Spectator Australia.