Portrait Of William Yorke (1609-1666), 17th Century Attributed To Edward Bower (fl. 1635 – 1667)

Portrait of William Yorke (1609-1666), 17th century attributed to Edward Bower (fl. 1635 – 1667) A fine large 17th century English master portrait of William Yorke, oil on canvas. An excellent quality and condition portrait of Yorke circa 1645 with his family crest lower left. Superb facial detail and use of light typical of Bower's paintings of the period. Inscribed on the reverse and presented in its original hand-carved oak frame. William Yorke (c. 1609 – 1 November 1666) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons twice between 1654 and 1666. Yorke was the son of William Yorke of Bassett Down, Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, and his wife Anne Stampe, daughter of Simon Stampe of Oxfordshire. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford, on 25 May 1627, aged 17, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1630. He entered the Inner Temple in 1630 and was called to the bar in 1637. He was a commissioner of excise for Wiltshire in 1644 and a justice of the peace for Wiltshire for the first time between 1646 and 1651. He became a bencher of his inn in 1652 and was again a justice of the peace from 1652 to 1657. He also became deputy governor of the Society of Mineral and Battery Works in 1652, a position he held until his death.[1] In 1654, Yorke was elected MP for Wiltshire in the First Protectorate Parliament. He was an assistant to the Society of Mines Royal from 1654 to 1655 and a deputy governor of the society from 1655 until his death. In 1657 he was made a commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire and again became a justice of the peace, a position he held until his death. He was again commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from January 1660 until his death. He inherited his father's estates in 1660. He became a freeman of Devizes in 1660 and became recorder in 1661. In 1661 he was elected MP for Devizes in the Cavalier Parliament. He was an alderman of Devizes from 1662 until his death.[1] Yorke died at the age of 56 and was buried in the Temple Church on 26 November 1666.[1] Yorke married Elizabeth Danvers, widow of Henry Danvers of Baynton, Edington, and daughter of William Bower of West Lavington, Wiltshire, before 27 October 1646. Their only son died in infancy.[1] Dimensions: 100 cm x 75 cm framed approximately