Panel
Category
Fixtures and fittings
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, oak, bog oak, holly/poplar
Measurements
1041 x 711 mm
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Beningbrough Hall, North Yorkshire
NT 1190832
Summary
A marquetry panel with the Bourchier knot and initials 'R E B' framed within a plasterwork surround decorated with acorns and oak leaves.
Full description
Possibly a panel recycled from Beningbrough Grange, the Bourchier's house before the building of Beningbrough Hall. Close observation suggests that the 'R' may be an altered 'B' and the 'E' an altered letter 'F'. This might suggest that the panel originally referred to Barrington Bourchier (1627-1680) and his wife Frances (1624-76) who are known to have signficantly rebuilt Beningbrough Grange in the early 1660s. The initials currently on the panel have been interpreted as intending to stand for Ralph Bourchier and his first wife, Elizabeth Hall (d.before 1577), the first of the family to inherit and occupy the Beningbrough estate. An alternative is that the letters have been altered to stand for 'Bourchier', 'Earle' and 'Rawlinson' and relate to the families of Giles and Margaret Earle (nee Bourchier) who inherited the estate in 1760. See NT 1190883 for a very similar inlaid panel.
Provenance
This panel is currently set into a carved wooden surround at the head of the main staircase within Beningbrough Hall. Research has shown that this was only inserted in this location in 1979 during refurbishment of the hall, having originally been found hanging by the secondary staircase. In its place was a very similar panel with the initials 'R B' (see NT 1190893) which had been in the location since at least the early 20th century.