A watercolour showing an open country, with a hutted camp in the middle distance. To the left, a bellcote, with two bells, ornamented with reliefs of saints, taken from the Church of the Twelve Apostles at Sebastopol during the Crimean war. Signed and dated bottom left: G.H.T. 1856.

Like much of Britain, Victoria and Albert followed the Crimean war closely. They engaged constructively with the war effort, with their primary concern being for the welfare of the British soldiers. This empathy is reflected in the many watercolours and photographs relating to Crimean subjects that they collected.

At the close of the war two large bells were taken from the Church of the Twelve Apostles at Sebastopol. One was placed on the North Terrace of Windsor Castle, before being moved to the Round Tower where it still hangs; it is struck only to toll the death of the Sovereign. The other was placed overlooking the south camp at Aldershot, as can be seen here. It is now located on Hospital Road in Aldershot.

This watercolour was originally mounted in View Album VII. 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.