ENGLISH SCHOOL

ENGLISH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY PORTRAIT OF A MAN TRADITIONALLY IDENTIFIED AS SIR NICHOLAS HARE bust length, oil on panel, 57.5 x 43cmProvenance: By descent in the family of the Earls of Stradbroke to Major the Hon Peter James Mowbray Rous (1914-1997), Bruisyard Hall, Suffolk.Sir Nicholas Hare (before 1495-1557) of Bruisyard, Suffolk and London was the son of John Hare of Homersfield and Elizabeth his wife, nee Fortescue. He was successively MP for Downton, Lancaster and Taunton, elected Speaker in 1539 two years before having been appointed to the King's Council. He was Master of the Rolls, 1553-1557. The purchase of former monastic property enabled Hare to become a substantial landowner in his native county of Suffolk.