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)

Beautiful large 17th century English master portrait of William Yorke, oil on canvas. Excellent quality and condition portrait of Yorke circa 1645 with his family crest lower left. Superb detail of the face and use of light typical of Bpwer paintings of the time. Inscribed on the back and presented in its original hand-carved oak wood frame.

William Yorke (c. 1609 - November 1, 1666) was an English lawyer and politician who served 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 enrolled at Pembroke College, Oxford on May 25, 1627, at the age of 17 and obtained a BA in 1630. He entered the Inner Temple in 1630 and was called to the bar in 1637. He was excise commissioner for Wiltshire in 1644 and was a justice of the peace for Wiltshire for the first time between 1646 and 1651. He became counselor at his inn in 1652 and was again justice of the peace from 1652 to 1657. He also became Deputy Governor of the Society of Mineral and Battery Works in 1652 and remained in that post until his death. [1] In 1654, Yorke was elected MP for Wiltshire in the Protectorate's first parliament. He was assistant to the Société des Mines Royales from 1654 to 1655 and deputy governor of the company from 1655 until his death. In 1657 he was Wiltshire Assessment Commissioner and again became a justice of the peace until his death. He was again Wiltshire Assessment Commissioner from January 1660 until his death. He inherited his father's estates in 1660. He became a free man of Devizes in 1660 and became an archivist in 1661. In 1661, he was elected deputy for Devizes in the Parliament of the cavaliers. He was alderman of Devizes from 1662 until his death. [1] Yorke died at the age of 56 and was buried in the Temple Church on November 26, 1666. [1] Yorke married Elizabeth Danvers, widow of Henry Danvers of Baynton, Edington, and daughter of William Bower of West Lavington, Wiltshire, before October 27, 1646. Their only son died in infancy [1]

Dimensions: 100cm x 75cm framed approximately