A Wetherspoons pub wall has revealed a ‘rare’ painting by William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s chief advisor. The original date backs to the 15th Century.
Conservators carrying out restoration work at The Star in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, discovered six Elizabethan wall panels.
It is believed that one of the panels shows a Cecil painting. Cecil bought the Grade II-listed building around 1580.
One of the other paintings depicts a woman who looks remarkably like Queen Elizabeth I. But historians are still unsure of her identity.
A panel on one of the walls is thought to depict a Cecil painting (above), who purchased the Grade II listed building in 1580.
Six Elizabethan-inspired wall panels were found by conservators at The Star in Hoddesdon (Hertfordshire), during restoration work.
One of the other paintings depicts a woman who looks similar to Queen Elizabeth I. However, the identity has yet to be confirmed by experts.
Mark Perry, of The Perry Lithgow Partnership, said: ‘The paintings are an incredibly rare find, not only in the fact that there are five together but also in the unusual subject matter.
‘They have local and national significance. You get occasional single portraits like this but to get five, and there may have been more before, is very rare.’
‘There are three males and three females and one seems to show someone who is a chancellor or treasurer because he is holding bags of money. The feeling is that this is probably Lord Burghley,’ Mr Perry told Metro.co.uk.
William Cecil (1st Baron Burghley) was Elizabeth I’s chief adviser and Lord High Treasurer. He also played a key role in the Kingdom of England’s Tudor monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth I, the second wife of King Henry VIII was Anne Boleyn. Her reign lasted from 1558 till her death 1603.
William Cecil (1st Baron Burghley) was Elizabeth I’s chief adviser and Lord High Treasurer. He also played a key role in the Kingdom of England’s Tudor monarchy.
Mark Perry, of The Perry Lithgow Partnership, said: ‘The paintings are an incredibly rare find, not only in the fact that there are five together but also in the unusual subject matter’
These panels show people dressed in traditional attire and alternate males and women. They are also accompanied with biblical inscriptions.
The first shows a woman with a lapdog, while the sixth depicts the outline of simple floral decorations.
The bottom of the panels has suffered from deterioration and some of the paintings have lost their original patches. To protect this rare treasure, a timber and glass screen was installed.
Wetherspoon hired conservators in 2014 to restore the pub, formerly The Salisbury Arms.
These panels show people dressed in period attire and alternate males and females. They are also accompanied with biblical inscriptions
The first shows a woman with a lapdog, while the sixth depicts the outline of simple floral decorations in black.
Wetherspoon hired conservators for the restoration of The Salisbury Arms, which was formerly The Salisbury Arms.