Images of Surrey: Watercolours by John and Edward Hassell at The Lightbox in Woking

Exhibition: Images of Surrey: Watercolours by John and Edward Hassell, The Lightbox, Woking, December 17 2011 – February 19 2012

Father and son painting partnerships don't come any more prolific than John and Edward Hassell, whose 2,000-plus watercolours of Surrey add up to a portrait of the county between 1820 and 1833.

Hassell senior was a topographical artist who entered the scene by picturing Stonehenge and the Royal Academy and went on to produce and illustrate a series of travel guides with names as charmingly precise as Picturesque Rides and Walks within Thirty Miles of the British Metropolis and Excursions of Pleasure.

Both tomes enhanced his fascination with Surrey, producing at least 750 drawings in five years of journeys at the end of his life.

Edward followed in his fervent footsteps, but was particularly keen on portraying church interiors, allowing many of his works to stand as snapshots of holy settings prior to major restorations of their interiors.

The pieces on show are undoubtedly beautiful in their own right, but they also reveal scenes and places radically altered or forgotten centuries later in a display co-organised by Surrey History Centre.

• Open 10.30am-5pm (11am-5pm Sunday, closed Monday). Admission free.

More pictures: