Rosalind Whitehouse
Profile of Rosalind Whitehouse
Consolidation of flaking paint
Removal of grime, varnish, overpaint
East Anglia, United Kingdom
Studio of Rosalind Whitehouse,
Accredited Paintings Conservator - Restorer
Conservation
and restoration of European oil paintings from
1500 to the present day, offering in addition a specialist
knowledge and experience of the work of many twentieth century painters.
Current Project – watch
progress on Twitter and Yfrog
The conservation and restoration of
six hatchments and a coat of arms from All Saints Church,
Sudbourne, Suffolk.
This is a Lottery funded project, and every
effort is being made to involve the community and to keep all
interested parties informed by posting photographs and videos
(with commentary) on Twitter and Yfrog, the social media
internet websites. The paintings are in
varying states of dilapidation, some requiring urgent treatment
to prevent further deterioration. Tears, woodworm, old degraded
varnish and restoration paint covering damage and paint loss are
all present. Sometimes complex decisions have to be made about
how best to resolve each problem.
Description, History and significance of the paintings
Four diamond shaped canvas hatchments (45” x 45”) belonging to
the Devereux family (Viscount Hereford) are hung in the tower,
two on each side, one above the other, close to the west -
facing window. These are the earliest paintings in the group.
Two further C19th canvas hatchments (51” x 51”) belonging to 2nd
and 3rd Marquess of Hertford hang on the west end
wall of the Nave. A King George III Coat of Arms hangs above
the North Door Entrance.
The Sudbourne hatchments
would have been commissioned on the death of the person they
commemorate, and hung outside their home for a period of 6
months before being placed permanently in their local church.
The four diamond shaped Devereux family
hatchments (45” x 45”) at present hanging in the Tower consist
of the 6th Viscount Hereford (died 1676) and 10th
Viscount Hereford (died 1748); Anne, daughter of 6th
Viscount Hereford and her husband and cousin Leicester Martin
(died 1732). Anne and Leicester’s daughter married the 10th
Viscount.
The two Hertford hatchments (51” x 51”), 2nd
and 3rd Marquess of Hertford, died 1822 and 1844,
hang on the wall at the west end of the Nave, and a Coat of Arms
(38” x 38”) of King George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820,
hangs above the North Entrance Porch door.
Both the Hereford and Hertford
families at one time owned the Sudbourne Estate and as Sudbourne
Church was originally the mother church, rather than St
Bartholomew’s Orford, their family hatchments were held at All
Saints Sudbourne.
The Viscountcy of Hereford,
created in 1550, is the senior Viscountcy in the Peerage of
England. The Viscount Hereford is also the only one of the three
English Viscounts who does not hold a higher title. The family
surname is spelt Devereux but pronounced "Deverooks". Robert
Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth I
courtier, is an earlier ancestor. He also held the title of
the 3rd Viscount Hereford.
Sir Richard Wallace, of
the Wallace Collection, was the son of the unmarried 4th
Marquess of Hertford. His father and grandmother, the 3rd
Marchioness of Hertford, mainly brought him up in Paris. On his
father’s death in Paris he inherited his father’s estate but not
the title. He lived in Paris (where he also died) and at
Hertford House and Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk. It is due entirely
to him that the church was restored in 1879 with a new organ,
new pews and the single hammer beam roof,
1. Memorial Hatchment: Leicester Devereux,
6th Viscount Hereford, (died 1677).
Oil on canvas, 45in x 45in.
In black-painted wooden
frame
This painting has suffered the most wear and
ongoing paint loss, as well as canvas deformation and
detachment.
2. Memorial Hatchment:
Prince Devereux,
6th Viscount Hereford,
(died 1748).
Oil on canvas, 45in x 45in.
In black-painted wooden
frame
No. 3
Memorial Hatchment: Leicester Martin, (died 1732)
Oil on canvas 45in x 45in
In black-painted wooden frame
No. 4
Memorial Hatchment: Ann Daughter of Leicester Devereux, married
1700.
Oil on canvas, 45in x 45in
In black painted wood frame
No. 5
Memorial Hatchment: Francis 2nd Marquis Hereford,
(died 1822)
Oil on canvas, 52in x 52in
In black painted frame
No. 6
Memorial Hatchment: Francis Charles, 3rd Marquis
Hereford, (died 1842)
Oil on canvas, 51in x 51in
In black painted wooden frame
No. 7
Coat of Arms of George III
