Lot Essay
The sitters in this and the following lot were the daughters of Sir Thomas Bedingfeld (1593-1661). He was called to the bar in 1615 and knighted on his appointment as attorney-general of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was one of the justices of the common pleas appointed by the two houses of Parliament in 1648. Appointed sergeant-at-law under King Charles I, he retired from office after the King's execution, but upon the restoration of the monarchy was reappointed. Sir Thomas' seat was Darham Hall, Suffolk, which passed into the Rous family, on the marriage of Phillipa to Sir John Rous of Henham Hall, Suffolk. Elizabeth married William de Grey of Merton Hall, Norfolk, which subsequently became the seat of the Barons Walsingham.