Sir Rowland Hill (?1492-1561)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1600 - circa 1700
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
860 x 705 mm
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 609006
Caption
Sir Rowland Hill was a wealthy merchant, and an ancestor of the Noel-Hill family of Attingham, where this picture now hangs. Hill held many official offices, including Lord Mayor of London in 1549. He took advantage of the Dissolution of the Monasteries to acquire land belonging to several abbeys in Shropshire. His fortune was made from trading in textiles, and supplemented by money-lending. A contemporary said of Sir Rowland: “Wheresoever a good dede was to be done for the common weal of his countrymen, he was ready to further the cause.’ His ‘good deeds’ included founding Shrewsbury’s grammar school (now the town library). This portrait is inscribed with his name in a panel below, with an account in Latin of his munificent acts, and with a motto in French above.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Sir Rowland Hill (?1492-1561), British (English) School, 17th or 18th century. A half-length portrait of Sir Rowland Hill, facing and wearing a black dress and cap. His hands resting on a ledge before him, inscribed with name of sitter and an account in Latin of his munificent acts. Inscribed, top: ADIEU MONDE PUIS QUE TV DESCORS TOUT INFAMS…TOUT CHASTES TOUT A LA FIN ORLIVES TOUT. Inscribed below painting: ROVLANDVS HILL . Miles Salopienfis vir bonus & fapiens quondam Maior Civilitatis Londini ac digniffimus Confull cruidem exiftens Qui auctoritatem opibu… / temporibus Regum Henrici octavi & Edwardi fexti florens diuerfas terras praedia ac poffessiones per qui fiuit eaq omnia falua conscientia abiq omni aliorum iniuria v… / damno Qualam fenescate ac in vltima aetatem vergente a rebus acquiredis prari abfinuit ac fuaforta contet fibi quieti vixit neq plura optabat. Multa preferia preclara / magna u..bat fanillia Bona que acquifiuifs et Liberaliter impendil Pauperib dedii, Scotafticis in vtrag academia exhibuit Leguleos aluit atq inalios pios vfus erogaui… / liberos fufcepit nullos ideog terras poffesionefq fuas inter cognates ac confang vinios diuifet Breuiter tanta pictate claruit quod fama faeta extendebat / reliquamq vitam fuani vigiliis timare ac contemplatione contenuit, ad honorem fummi dei ac in perpetuam lui nomins gloriam. Sir Rowland Hill, ancestor of Berwick family and built Hodnet and Stoke churches in Shropshire. Devoted great fortune to charitable purposes and first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, 1549-1550. Related picture at Tatton Park, Cheshire (NT 1298284). Sir Rowland Hill (?1492-1561). A wealthy merchant and an ancestor of the Berwick family. Warden of Mercers’ Company, 1536 and four times master sheriff, 1541. He was knighted and made Alderman of the Castle Barnard ward, 1542; Alderman of Walbrook, 1545 and first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, 1549-50. In 1557 he was appointed commissioner against heretics and built Hodnet and Stoke churches, Shropshire; devoted his great fortune to charity including the endowment of a school at Drayton and exhibitions to universities. National Trust, Attingham Park, 2000, p.40: “THE NOEL-HILLS OF ATTINGHAM SIR ROWLAND HILL. The Hill family had been established in Shropshire as members of the gentry for several generations by the time Noel Hill set about building his great new house in 1783. Their ancestor in Tudor times, Sir Rowland Hill, was Lord Mayor of London in 1549 and took advantage of the Dissolution of the Monasteries to acquire land belonging to several abbeys in the area; Shrewsbury, Lilleshall and Haughmond. His fortune derived from trading in textiles, particularly abroad, and as increased by money-lending, not least to his monarch. In 1556 he purchased the property of Hawkstone, north of Shrewsbury, which was to remain the chief seat of the family until sold in 1906. A contemporary said of Sir Rowland: “Wheresoever a good dede was to be done for the common weal of his countrymen, he was ready to further the cause.’ His benefactions included founding Shrewsbury’s grammar school (now the town library).”
Provenance
Attingham collection. 1913 Inventory p.90; bequeathed to the National Trust with the estate, house and contents of Attingham by Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick (1877-1947) on 15th May 1953.
Marks and inscriptions
A DIEU MONDE PVIS QVE TV DESCOIS TOVT INFAMIS. TOVT CHASTES TOVT ALA FIN OBLIVES TOVT (French motto to top)
Makers and roles
British (English) School