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20 Pounds Sterling 2020, Kingdom of Great Britain

no number in katalog -
Years of issue: 20.02.2020
Edition: 2 000 000 000
Signatures: Chief Cashier: Sarah John
Serie: England
Specimen of: 2016
Material: Polymer
Size (mm): 139 х 73
Printer: Bank of England print works, Loughton (Debden), Essex, UK

* All pictures marked magnify are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.

** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

20 Pounds Sterling 2020

Description

Watermark:

watermark watermark

Her majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, photo made in 1985-1986. The Queen's portrait in the see-through window with "£20 Bank of England" printed twice around the edge.

fountains fountains

A large see-through window with a blue and gold foil on the front depicting Margate lighthouse and Turner Contemporary. The foil is silver on the back. The shape of the large window is based on the shape of the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

Lighthouse

On the obverse of the banknote in gold color (on the reverse in silver color), next to the portrait of the Queen is the Margate lighthouse.

Margate Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the end of Margate harbour arm in Kent.

This lighthouse was designed by the architect William Edmunds and was completed in 1829. It was destroyed in the North Sea flood of 1953. The design was a round Doric column similar to the lighthouse at Whitby.

A replacement lighthouse with an octagonal column was built in 1955. This lighthouse features on the series G Bank of England £20 note along with the Turner Contemporary.

Turner visited Margate Lighthouse regularly throughout his life and was inspired by this seaside town. Turner also attended school in Margate.

Turner Contemporary

Behind the lighthouse is Turner Contemporary in Margate visible.

Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turner, who went to school there, and visited throughout his life.

The original designs by Norwegian architects Snøhetta would have made the gallery part of the harbour itself. Some critics, however, questioned the prudence of placing part of Britain's national art treasures in a spot that is exposed to the full fury of the North Sea. The costs of the original design, and controversy over the decision to change its structure from concrete to steel, have led to a legal battle, in an attempt to recover some of the costs. It was later moved to a plot of land adjacent to the harbour, on the site of a boarding house where Turner once stayed.

The building was designed by David Chipperfield, whose design for the 3 storey, 20 meters (66 ft.) high gallery has been criticized for being "alien, brutal and bleak". It was built on the raised promenade following a flood risk analysis. Construction started in 2008, and was completed for opening in April 2011, at a cost of £17.5 million. The gallery opened on 16 April 2011. 14,000 people visited in the first weekend and 500,000 in its first year. In August 2013 the gallery received its millionth visitor.

The scheme has been supported by the artist Tracey Emin, who was brought up in Margate and opened it, and various funding bodies including Kent County Council, with a £6.4 million contribution, Thanet District Council, who provided the land, South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), who provided £4 million, the Arts Council England with support to the value of £4.1 million and the European Union. It is the largest dedicated visual arts venue in Kent. It is a registered charity under English law.

In November 2011, the venue received an award from the British Guild of Travel Writers, for an outstanding tourism project. Queen Elizabeth II visited Turner Contemporary on 11 November 2011, as part of a wider trip to Margate.

The gallery has been criticised for emphasising cultural consumption and economic regeneration to the detriment of local residents. In particular, research points out that, despite claims to anchor creative production, Turner Contemporary has failed to engage with local artists, and that the gallery underpins the erosion of the town's local peculiarity leading to concerns that "the features of the ‘traditional’ seaside were threatened by regeneration, and that the town may become a highly gentrified locale like, for example, parts of Brighton or Whitstable."

crown

On the front of the note, above the see-through window, is a silver foil patch containing an image of the coronation crown which appears 3D. When the note is tilted a multi-coloured rainbow effect can be seen.

Below - the inscription "Twenty Pounds" on a metal background. Near is the Logo of Bank of England - sitted Britania.

Avers:

20 Pounds Sterling 2020

HM The Queen Elizabeth II.

In preparation for the "E Series" of notes, issued by the Bank of England, photographs of The Queen were especially commissioned by the Bank. The photographs were taken by Don Ford in 1985-1986, one of the Bank’s technical photographers, under the direction of Roger Withington. Mr. Withington designed the notes of the "E Series" and prepared the engraving of the Queen, which appeared on this series of notes, from one of the photographs taken by Mr. Ford. The portrait shows Queen Elizabeth wearing Queen Mary’s "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" Tiara, Queen Alexandra’s cluster earrings and, although difficult to identify, Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace.

Elizabeth II

The engraving on banknote is, probably, made after this photo by Don Ford, 1985-1986.

Tiara Girls of Great Britain and Ireland

Queen Mary received this tiara as a wedding gift in 1893, from a committee representing "the girls of Great Britain and Ireland". The funds for the purchase of the tiara were raised by a committee, formed by Lady Eve Greville. The tiara was purchased from Garrard, the London jeweler.

It featured pearls on top and a detachable base; Mary removed the pearls. She gave it to her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, as a wedding present in 1947. The Queen originally wore it without the base before reuniting the pieces in 1969.

Said to be light and easy to wear, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara seems to be the Queen's favorite - she's said to call it "Granny's tiara", and it is her most frequently worn diadem.

The "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" Tiara can be worn with or without a bandeau base and, in this portrait, the tiara is set into its base. (Portrait of Dorothy Wilding, 1952, shows the Tiara being worn without the base). (From her Majesty's jewel vault)

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace

To mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, a committee of ladies was formed to raise money for a commemorative statue of Victoria’s late husband Prince Albert. The committee’s fundraising was quite successful, and they ended up raising far more than was required for the statue. An agreement was formed with the Queen that the excess should go to the St. Katherine’s Fund for Nurses. At the same time, some members of the committee decided that a portion of the funds should be used to purchase a necklace for the Queen - and this was also approved by Her Majesty.

The trouble was, the committee did not agree on the necklace. Some felt it would be wrong to spend the funds which had been previously devoted to charity on something else. Much discussion and debate ensued, as is described in depth in Hugh Roberts’ book The Queen’s Diamonds. (My favorite tidbit: Queen Victoria, angry that she wouldn’t get her promised necklace, shot down the prospect of a diamond badge commemorating the nursing fund by declaring she would “at once exchange it for another jewel”.

In the end, a compromise was reached and this necklace, made for £5000 (far less than the necklace originally proposed) from gold, diamonds, and pearls by Carrington & Co. was presented to Queen Victoria in 1888. It features a central quatrefoil diamond motif with a large pearl in the middle, topped by a crown and underlined with a drop pearl. The next four links in either direction are graduated trefoil motifs; the central piece and the six largest trefoils can also be worn as brooches.

Queen Alexandra’s Cluster Earrings

She is also wearing Queen Alexandra’s Cluster Earrings. The wedding gift from the future King Edward VII to his bride, Alexandra of Denmark. Also known as Queen Alexandra's Cluster Earrings, these two button earrings have large pearls surrounded by diamonds - 10 larger stones each plus smaller filler stones to create a full diamond ring. Like the brooch, these passed to the Queen via Queen Mary. They're now worn primarily at evening functions.

Bank

On patterned background is a building of Bank of England. Above the building are 4 coat of arms - left to right - England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (North).

The history of the Bank is naturally one of interest, but also of continuing relevance to the Bank today. Events and circumstances over the past three hundred or so years have shaped and influenced the role and responsibilities of the Bank. They have moulded the culture and traditions, as well as the expertise, of the Bank which are relevant to its reputation and effectiveness as a central bank in the early years of the XXI century. At the same time, much of the history of the Bank runs parallel to the economic and financial history, and often the political history, of the United Kingdom more generally.

For the first forty years of its life the Bank rented premises to carry on its business, firstly, in the hall of the Mercers' Company in Cheapside and moving in January 1695 to the larger premises of the Grocers' Company in Princes Street. In 1734 it moved to purpose-built premises in Threadneedle Street which were approximately 80 feet wide (25m.) and 300 feet (90m.) long. Over the next one hundred years the site was gradually extended until by 1828 the current outline was achieved.

The Bank has been served by a distinguished line of architects:

​1732-1734 George Sampson's Bank of England ​

Scant details of George Sampson have survived. Even his dates are not known for certain. He appears to have held the post of Clerk of Works at the Tower of London and Somerset House before becoming Surveyor to the Bank. His only major work is the 1734 Bank, arguably the first purpose-built bank in the British Isles. He is thought to have died in 1764.

1765-1788 Sir Robert Taylor's Bank of England.

A sculptor who turned to architecture later in life, he extended the Threadneedle street façade of the Bank firstly eastwards and, after the demolition of the church of St Christopher-le-Stocks in 1781, westwards. In order to avoid piercing the outer walls with openings for light he introduced top-lighting to his new banking halls which were dominated by his centrally-placed Rotunda.

1788-1833 Sir John Soane's Bank of England.

Sir John Soane was one of England's greatest architects. His appointment in October 1788 as "Architect and Surveyor" to the Bank was the most important of his distinguished career. The Bank was his main pre-occupation for the ensuing 45 years until his retirement in 1833 when he described it as "...a situation which has long been the pride and boast of my life". He extended the Bank's site and eventually enclosed it in 1828 with a windowless wall.'

The structure of "Soane's Bank of England" remained more or less untouched until it was demolished and a new building erected by the architect Herbert Baker between 1925-1939.

1833-1855 Professor C R Cockerell.

​1855-1883 P C Hardwick.

​1883-1899 Sir Arthur Blomfield.

​1899-1919 A C Blomfield.

1925-1939 Sir Herbert Baker's Bank of EnglandBetween 1925 and 1939 he demolished what had become known as 'The Old Bank' or "Soane's Bank" (then regarded as one of London's architectural gems) and built a new headquarters for the Bank on the same 3 ½ acre Theadneedle Street site. The "Old Bank" had been in the main no more than three storeys high; Baker's new building rose seven storeys above ground and dropped three below to accommodate the extra staff required to tackle the Bank's rapidly increasing volume of work and responsibilities. (Bank of England)

The Bank Nun.

On November 2nd 1811, Philip Whitehead, "a man of genteel appearance" who had been employed in the Cashier’s Office at the Bank of England, was brought to the dock of the Old Bailey, charged with forgery. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death and was duly hanged in early 1812.

News of his crime and execution was, however, kept from his devoted sister, Sarah Whitehead, who was removed by Philip’s friends to a house in Wine Office Court, off Fleet Street. But one day, Sarah turned up at the Bank of England to enquire of her brother’s whereabouts, and an unthinking clerk promptly blurted out the story of Philip’s crime and ignominious death.

The shock of the discovery turned the poor woman’s mind and thereafter she took to turning up at the Bank everyday asking after her brother in the belief that he still worked there. She became known as the “Bank Nun” on account of her peculiar attire that consisted of a long black dress and a black crepe veil worn over her face and head. The city merchants took pity on her and never let her pass “without extending their assistance,” whilst the Directors and clerks of the Bank of England saw to it that she was frequently provided with “sums of money in compliment of her misfortune.”

But she became convinced that the Bank governors were keeping an immense fortune from her and this led to her frequently hurling insults at them during business hours. On one occasion Baron Rothschild was going about his business at the Stock Exchange when she suddenly appeared and called him a “villain and a robber” telling him that he had defrauded her of her fortune and demanding the £2,000 he owed her. He responded by taking half a crown from his waistcoat pocket, handing it to her and telling her as he did so “There, then, take that and don’t bother me now; I’ll give you the other half tomorrow.” Accepting the money, she thanked him and went away.

By 1818 the Bank governors had grown tired of her daily disturbances and so gave her a sum of money on condition she agreed never to return to the bank again. In life she kept that contract, but in death her wraith has broken it many times. More than one late night wanderer, wending their weary way home along Threadneedle Street has been surprised by her ghostly figure appearing before them and, with downcast eyes enquiring sadly, though politely, “have you seen my brother?” (Haunted historic buildings)

In lower left corner is a Bank seal with sitting Britannia (as logo of Bank of England).

Denominations in numerals are in top corners and lower right. In center in words. Many denominations in numerals are in lower right corner.

Revers:

20 Pounds Sterling 2020

Lower, under the William Turner's portrait is a quote: "Light is therefore colour", from an 1818 lecture by Turner referring to his innovative use of light, shade, colour and tone in his pictures.

In lower right corner of the portrait is Turner’s signature from his Will, the document with which he bequeathed many of his paintings to the nation.

William Turner

Centered, on background, is a self-portrait of William Turner from 1799, which is now on display at the Tate Britain (known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery). Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney said: "I am delighted to announce that J.M.W. Turner has been chosen to appear on the next £20 note.

"Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative for the art world. His influence spanned his lifetime and well beyond."

Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851), known contemporarily as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colourisations, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. He left behind more than 550 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours, and 30,000 works on paper. He was championed by the leading English art critic John Ruskin from 1840, and is today regarded as having elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting.

Turner was born in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London, to a modest lower-middle-class family. He lived in London all his life, retaining his Cockney accent and assiduously avoiding the trappings of success and fame. A child prodigy, Turner studied at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1789, enrolling when he was 14, and exhibited his first work there at 15. During this period, he also served as an architectural draftsman. He earned a steady income from commissions and sales, which due to his troubled, contrary nature, were often begrudgingly accepted. He opened his own gallery in 1804 and became professor of perspective at the academy in 1807, where he lectured until 1828, although he was viewed as profoundly inarticulate. He travelled to Europe from 1802, typically returning with voluminous sketchbooks.

Intensely private, eccentric and reclusive, Turner was a controversial figure throughout his career. He did not marry, but fathered two daughters, Eveline (1801–1874) and Georgiana (1811–1843), by his housekeeper Sarah Danby. He became more pessimistic and morose as he got older, especially after the death of his father, after which his outlook deteriorated, his gallery fell into disrepair and neglect, and his art intensified. In 1841 Turner rowed a boat into the Thames so he could not be counted as present at any property in that year's census. He lived in squalor and poor health from 1845, and died in London in 1851 aged 76. Turner is buried in Saint Paul's Cathedral, London.

Fighting Temeraire

On background, also centered is a painting by William Turner "The Fighting Temeraire", 1839, canvas, oil. 91×122 cm. Today is in The Natinal gallery Tate, London.

The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, painted in 1838 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1839.

The painting depicts the 98-gun HMS Temeraire, one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a role in the Battle of Trafalgar, being towed up the Thames by a paddle-wheel steam tug in 1838, towards its final berth in Rotherhithe to be broken up for scrap.

The painting hangs in the National Gallery, London, having been bequeathed to the nation by the artist in 1851. In a poll organised by BBC Radio 4's Today programme in 2005, it was voted the nation's favourite painting. In 2020 it was included on the new £20 note.

When Turner came to paint this picture he was at the height of his career, having exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, for 40 years. He was renowned for his highly atmospheric paintings in which he explored the subjects of the weather, the sea and the effects of light. He spent much of his life near the River Thames and did many paintings of ships and waterside scenes, both in watercolour and in oils. Turner frequently made small sketches and then worked them into finished paintings in the studio.

Turner witnessed the ship on tow whilst boating off Greenwich marshes with Clarkson Stanfield some time around noon on 5 September 1838. He may or may not have done some initial sketches at the time, but he tracked the ship to Beatson's breaking yard at Rotherhithe and made more studies there. As the initial viewing was during a "water picnic" it must be assumed that the day was sunny. The moody sky is therefore invention. Turner painted the ship being pulled by a single tug, rather than two as recorded. Turner and Stanfield appear in their boat on the right hand side of the picture.

He used considerable licence in the painting which had a symbolic meaning for him, that his first audience immediately appreciated. Turner had been twenty-eight years old when Britain entered the Napoleonic Wars and "had a strong patriotic streak". The Temeraire was a very well-known ship from her heroic performance at Trafalgar, and her sale by the Admiralty had attracted substantial press coverage, which was probably what brought the subject to his attention.

The composition of this painting is unusual in that the most significant object, the old warship, is positioned well to the left of the painting, where it rises in stately splendour and almost ghostlike colours against a triangle of blue sky and rising mist that throws it into relief. The beauty of the old ship contrasts with the dirty blackened tugboat with its tall smokestack, which churns the otherwise still surface of the river.

The blue triangle frames a second triangle of masted ships, which decrease in size as they become more distant. Temeraire and tugboat have passed a small river craft with its gaff rigged sail barely catching a breeze. Beyond this a square-rigger drifts, with all its sail extended. Another small craft shows as a patch of white farther down the river. In the far distance, beyond a second tugboat which makes its way towards them, a three-masted ship rides at anchor. The becalmed vessels show the obsolescence of sail.

On the opposite side of the painting to Temeraire, the same distance from the frame as the ship's main mast, the Sun sets above the estuary, its rays extending into the clouds above it, and across the surface of the water. The red of the clouds is reflected in the river, repeating the colour of the smoke from the tugboat. The Sun setting symbolises the end of an era.

Behind Temeraire, a sliver of Moon casts a beam across the river, symbolising the commencement of the new, industrial era. The demise of heroic strength is the main subject of the painting. It has been suggested that the ship stands for the artist himself, with an accomplished and glorious past but now contemplating his mortality. Turner called the work his "darling".

Sir Henry Newbolt later wrote a ballad titled The Fighting Temeraire, describing the same scene: "And she's fading down the river, But in England's song for ever, She's the Fighting Téméraire."

Turner took some artistic licence with the painting. The ship was known to her crew as "Saucy", rather than "Fighting" Temeraire. Before being sold to the ship-breaker John Beatson, the ship had been lying at Sheerness Dockyard, and was then moved to his wharf at Rotherhithe, then in Surrey but now in Southwark. As shown in a "prosaic drawing, made on the spot by a trained observer" (William Beatson, the ship-breaker's brother) and turned into a lithograph, her masts and rigging were removed before her sale and journey to the breaker's yard. All of her cannon, anchors and assorted hardware had been removed and salvaged for the navy to use as spare parts. She was towed by two tugboats, not just one, and in the other direction (the sun sets in the west, while the Thames estuary is at the river's eastern end).

When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1839 the painting was a considerable success, praised in various of the lengthy press reviews that the Summer Exhibitions then received as a "grand image of the last days of one of Britain's bulwarks" as The Spectator put it. The novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, reviewing for Fraser's Magazine "in the form of mostly facetious letters" supposedly by "Michael Angelo Titmarsh Esq." abandoned his usual flippant tone when discussing "as grand a picture as ever figured on the walls of any academy, or came from the easel of any painter". Turner displayed the painting in 1839 accompanied by an altered excerpt from Thomas Campbell's poem Ye Mariners of England, reading:

The flag which braved the battle and the breeze,

No longer owns her.

Turner objected to this 1845 engraving by James Tibbits Willmore correcting the painting by putting the mast of the tug before its smokestack.

Turner kept the painting in his studio, which also functioned as a showroom for buyers, until his death. In 1844 he loaned it as part of his deal for reproductions to the print publisher J. Hogarth, who exhibited it at his premises, but about a year later wrote a draft note replying to another request saying that "no consid[eratio]ns of money or favour can induce me to lend my Darling again...". Hogarth's steel engraving by James Tibbits Willmore, who had often engraved Turners, was published in 1845 and was the first of many reproductions in various techniques. In about 1848 Turner refused an offer to buy the painting reputed to have been £5,000, followed by a "blank cheque", having determined to leave it to the nation, and already being very well-off.

It was evidently usually among the works on display in the studio, and is mentioned by several visitors. He intended to leave his paintings to the nation but the terms of his will were unclear and after his death in 1851 his will was contested by relatives, and several years of litigation were only ended in 1856, when this and a large body of other work entered the collection of the National Gallery. Most of the "Turner Bequest" was turned over to Tate Britain when that was established in 1897, but the Fighting Temeraire remained in the National Gallery. It was in the Tate Gallery (as it then was) from 1910 to 1914 and 1960 to 1961, and for six months in 1987 to mark the opening of the Clore Gallery there, which houses the rest of the Bequest. In 1947-1948 it went on a European tour to Amsterdam, Bern, Paris, Brussels, Liège, ending at the Venice Biennale. In 1952 it was exhibited in Cape Town.

The picture remains in "exceptionally good condition", apart from slightly discoloured varnish, and seems never to have received conservation treatment beyond the removal of surface dirt in 1945 and a lining in 1963. X-ray images reveal that Turner seems to have used a canvas on which he had started another marine picture, with a large sail where the tugboat's above-deck structures now are.

purple foil patch

Top right is the purple foil patch, with letter T inside, which is based on the shape of the staircase at the Tate Britain.

Tate Britain Staircase

Tate Britain (known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery) is an art museum on Millbank in London. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in England, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, having opened in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the art of the United Kingdom since Tudor times, and in particular has large holdings of the works of J. M. W. Turner, who bequeathed all his own collection to the nation. It is one of the largest museums in the country.

The gallery is situated on Millbank, on the site of the former Millbank Prison. Construction, undertaken by Higgs and Hill, commenced in 1893, and the gallery opened on 21 July 1897 as the National Gallery of British Art. However, from the start it was commonly known as the Tate Gallery, after its founder Sir Henry Tate, and in 1932 it officially adopted that name. Before 2000, the gallery housed and displayed both British and modern collections, but the launch of Tate Modern saw Tate’s modern collections move there, while the old Millbank gallery became dedicated to the display of historical and contemporary British art. As a consequence, it was renamed Tate Britain in March 2000.

The front part of the building was designed by Sidney R. J. Smith with a classical portico and dome behind, and the central sculpture gallery was designed by John Russell Pope. Tate Britain includes the Clore Gallery of 1987, designed by James Stirling, which houses work by J. M. W. Turner. The Clore Gallery has been regarded as an important example of Postmodern architecture, especially in the use of contextual irony: each section of the external facade quotes liberally from the building next to it in regard to materials and detailing.

Crises during its existence include flood damage to work from the River Thames, and bomb damage during World War II. However, most of the collection was in safe storage elsewhere during the war, and a large Stanley Spencer painting, deemed too big to move, had a protective brick wall built in front of it.

In 1970, the building was given Grade II* listed status.

In 2012, Tate Britain announced that it had raised the £45 million required to complete a major renovation, largely thanks to a £4.9 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £1 million given by Tate Members. The museum stayed open throughout the three phases of renovation. Completed in 2013, the newly designed sections were conceived by the architects Caruso St John and included a total of nine new galleries, with reinforced flooring to accommodate heavy sculptures. A second part was unveiled later that year, the centrepiece being the reopening of the building’s Thames-facing entrance as well as a new spiral staircase beneath its rotunda. The circular balcony of the rotunda’s domed atrium, closed to visitors since the 1920s, was reopened. The gallery also now has a dedicated schools’ entrance and reception beneath its entrance steps on Millbank and a new archive gallery for the presentation of temporary displays. (simonfieldhouse.com)

Tintern Abbey

In lower left corner is transparend window, based onthe East Window of Tintern Abbey from Williams Turner paintin "Tintern Abbey: The Crossing and Chancel, Looking towards the East Window", 1794. Graphite, watercolor on paper. Size: 35.9 х 25 cm. Today is in Tate Britain, gallery, London.

Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was the first Cistercian foundation in Wales, and only the second in Britain (after Waverley Abbey).

The abbey fell into ruin after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the XVI century. Its remains have been celebrated in poetry and painting from the XVIII century onwards. In 1984, Cadw took over responsibility for managing the site. Tintern Abbey is visited by approximately 70,000 people every year.

Denominations in numerals are on top, repeated 2 times. In lower left corner in words.

Comments:

Sarah John

Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John presents 20 Pounds 2020 notes.