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Benjamin Barker - The move to Bath

The reasons for Benjamin and his family leaving Pontypool in 1781 are not clear; it may have been the result of the change in proprietorship of the Japanware works in 1780, or possibly Benjamin felt that the town offered too few opportunities for his children to develop their evident talents. I

In any case, by 1781 the family had moved to Bristol, but in 1783 they moved on to Bath where Benjamin had secured employment in a livery stable. In his new occupation he would be close to his beloved horses and be able to carry on his painting - both equine portraits and, more mundanely, the painting of coats-of-arms on carriage doors.

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