A watercolour showing the newly completed railway bridge, built to carry the Holyhead line across the Menai Straits, seen from the Anglesey side. Signed and dated: F. Dillon. 1852; inscribed in a second hand: 14 Oct.

The innovative tubular bridge designed by Robert Stephenson was visited and admired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852. Particular notice was given to the monumental lions which flanked the bridge, the work of John Thomas, who also worked for the royal couple. Frank Dillon was later to become famous for his views of Egypt.

Text adapted from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, London, 2010

This watercolour was originally mounted in View Album VI. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert compiled nine View Albums during their marriage. These albums contained watercolours and drawings documenting their life together and were arranged in chronological order. The albums were dismantled in the early twentieth century and rebound in new volumes both in a different arrangement and with additional items, but a written record of their original contents and arrangement still exists.