Among the works completed in this period were Abandoned Cottage No. 1 and Abandoned Cottage No. 2, two 1943 gouaches notable for their unusually dense application of gouache—what Hodgkins described to her dealer Duncan Macdonald as almost verging on the impasto of oil.

Surmounting the High Town of Bridgnorth stands the ruins of Bridgnorth Castle, begun in the 12th century by Robert de Belleme, Earl of Shrewsbury. Today, it leans at a perilous angle, a beloved folly standing in the midst of Victorian gardens. One of the reasons Frances Hodgkins delighted in Bridgnorth (she taught there over several summers between 1926 and 1932) was the variety of views and combinations of architectural and natural forms that were readily available.