Category: UK

This is Sir Henry Bedingfield (1509-1583) who was the eldest son of Edmund Bedingfield, who had been entrusted with the care of Katherine of Aragon. Henry was also trusted with positions in the Royal Court, providing protection for Mary I (also known as Mary Tudor, 1516-1558) and then also being entrusted with the care of Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was rewarded for this loyalty, being made the Constable of the Tower of London and he was given a large pension for his support towards Mary I.

His reputation suffered during later years due to a smear campaign, but it’s likely that this was more fake news. Bedingfield was known as the ‘gaoler’, which was likely a tongue in cheek reference made by Queen Elizabeth to the role which he had at the Tower of London. Bedingfield found himself in a difficult position, as he was a Catholic now in the administration of a Protestant monarch. It was known what he was doing, he received fines for non-compliance and failure to attend church, whilst finding his property searched on numerous occasions.

The artist of this painting is unknown, and the entire thing is something of a mystery as it’s also not known who any of the people in the artwork are. All that is known is that it was painted in 1658, but the black servant on the right-hand side might not be contemporary to that.

The National Trust explains that black servants were often painted, or over-painted, onto artworks to show that their masters (the word used by the National Trust) had global connections and substantial wealth. There’s no other evidence that the Bedingfield family ever had a black servant, so it’s likely that it is entirely symbolic. The addition of this figure also appears clumsily done, so it’s probably a later addition.

Oxburgh Hall was in the first wave of National Trust houses to re-open after the enforced period of closure and the only one in Norfolk. It was essential to pre-book, and non-members needed to pay, in advance on the web-site although this was an easy process to navigate.

Signage was suitably clear and there was an engaging staff member at the entrance to the property checking names and explaining what was happening.

Gateways such as this were one-way only, with visitors routed around to ensure sufficient space.

There was a one-way system through a few parts of the gardens where there was limited space, such as the herbaceous border. Visitors could also enter the house itself and I was warned there might be a queue for this, although it transpired that I was able to walk straight around with no wait.

After crossing the bridge over the moat, visitors are met at the entrance to the house and another friendly guide explained where to go. It was all rather relaxed and I didn’t have to queue at any point, the National Trust hadn’t tried to cram too many people in.

Visitors need to go through the courtyard, where there are also toilet facilities, and then enter the rooms at the far left. Only a few rooms were open, but there’s probably a limit to what they can do given the nature of the historic property that they have. More on these rooms, and indeed other elements about Oxburgh Hall, in other posts though.

All told, this was very well-organised, although most things involving the National Trust usually are, albeit perhaps sometimes a little over-managed in some areas. Their one minor issue which was probably only temporary, they had run out of maps and they knew that they had more, but couldn’t work out who had them. But, they kept everyone safe and had managed to open up something, so that seemed a positive result to me.

This is the diary of Thomas Marwood (?-1718), a private tutor to Henry Arundell Bedingfield (1689-1760). The diary was written between 1699 and 1703, with the pair often travelling in Europe under the guise of meeting family members. A ruse was needed because Marwood, who went by the alias of Henry Nelson, was a Catholic at a time when providing a child with such a religious education was not permissible.

The National Trust have noted that the diary is opened out onto September 1700, with the entry of 1 September:

“I measured the Esquire’s height without his shoes and find him just 4 feet 4/6 English measure, ie, 4 feet 8 inches. And that he has grown a full inch since June 12 last. One inch”.

Marwood gained a reputation for his theological work and his ability to understand and interpret the Bible, rejecting what he felt were the errors of the Reformation and its impact on the text. It was once thought that the above painting was of Marwood and his charge, the young Henry, although apparently this might not be the case.

Marwood’s diary was used extensively in the early twentieth century in research papers, so it has been carefully examined and most of it has been published. And Marwood seemed to have had a marvellous time travelling throughout Europe, seeing travel, theatre and culture as part of the whole learning experience.

The diary entry for 19 November 1700 is for when Marwood went to visit Dunkirk, where he stayed for six weeks. He was particularly taken with the kitchen, which he noted was “the neatest contrived I ever saw; it would roast three spits with a little charcoal and bake small things by two ovens with the same fire”. To be fair, it’s the sort of things that I would have written excitedly about if I had been there then.

But what a learning experience this was for the young Bedingfield, visiting important political figures around Europe. There were also a couple of meetings with Jacobites, perhaps this is what influenced Henry later on in his life to produce his secret drinking glasses.

Oxburgh Hall is going through a substantial restoration programme at the moment, caused by things falling off the building, which means that they’ve been lifting some floorboards. Their discoveries might look mundane, but there’s something quite compelling about the random things that have been found. So far, some masonry, half a plate, a paper money bag, bits of newspaper and a cigarette box.