Historians hail ‘amazing’ find of Sir Walter Raleigh ‘portrait’ believed to have been painted by the explorer while he was locked up in the Tower of London
- A wall painting has been found almost 400 years after courtier was beheaded
- Experts investigating if it is a self-portrait by Raleigh during his imprisonment
- Raleigh was held at the Tower on three separate occasions and a total of 13 years
- Painting depicts the profile of a man, with a long nose, wearing a laurel wreath
- Mural will be revealed to public tomorrow and feature in a new documentary
Historians are investigating whether a painting found in the Bloody Tower resembles known portraits of Sir Walter Raleigh, like this one, dated from the 16th Century
Hidden for centuries beneath layers of paint and plaster, historians believe they might have come across ‘a once-in-a-career find’ after discovering a wall painting in one of the chambers where Sir Walter Raleigh was once held.
Now almost 400 years to the day since the charismatic 16th century explorer, author and politician was beheaded, experts are investigating whether the mural is of Raleigh himself – and the possibility he was the one who left his mark on these walls for posterity.
Dr Tracy Borman, joint chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), which manages the Tower, told Dalya Alberge for The Sunday Telegraph: ‘To come across something like that, in an area that we thought we knew inside out, is fantastic.’
The painting was discovered inside the Bloody Tower, where Raleigh was held for 13 years, from 1603 to 1616, for allegedly conspiring against King James I.
With distinctive features, including a long nose and elongated face, the painting depicts the profile of a man wearing a laurel wreath.
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Raleigh, who rose to prominence as one of Elizabeth I’s favourite courtiers, was in fact imprisoned in the Tower of London on two other occasions.
The first was a five-week stretch for secretly marrying Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Throckmorton, one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, in 1591.
His final stay at the Tower began in 1618, when he was accused of deliberately inciting war between England and Spain.
Gentleman’s jail: Sir Walter spent 13 years and three separate stints at the Tower of London
However, as a gentleman prisoner, Raleigh could live more comfortably than those with less aristocratic backgrounds.
He had a budget of £208 to spend on food each year and for a time his wife and son were allowed to live with him, along with three servants. His second son was even born at the Tower.
Raleigh was also permitted to exercise in the garden, grow exotic plants he had brought back from the New World and brew herbal medicines.
Yet for all his comforts inside the Tower, Raleigh’s health was often poor.
Having been stripped of all his honours and his estate confiscated, the disgraced courtier even made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide in 1603.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH
A statue of Sir Walter Raleigh in Whitehall
Sir Walter Raleigh (1554 – 1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, politician, courtier, spy, and explorer.
He was popular with Queen Elizabeth I and instrumental of the English colonisation of North America, paving the way for settlements in Virginia.
Raleigh is famous for bringing back the ‘Virginia’ potato from the New World.
In 1594 he heard about a lost ‘City of Gold’ in South America and sailed to find it, publishing an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of ‘El Dorado’.
But after Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for being involved in the Main Plot against King James I.
In 1616, he was released to lead a second expedition for James I in search of El Dorado.
But the expedition was a disaster and the men under his command ransacked a Spanish outpost.
He was charged with deliberately inciting war between England and Spain and returned to the Tower in 1618, where he was executed two months later.
But the end did not come until 1618. He was released by James I to lead an expedition to El Dorado, the famed lost ‘City of Gold’ in South America, but it was a disaster.
Not only was there no gold, but his men ransacked a Spanish outpost. When he returned to England, Raleigh was arrested and thrown into the Tower once more.
On 29 October 1618, Raleigh was beheaded. At the crucial moment, he said, ‘let us dispatch’, to his executioner. ‘At this hour my ague comes upon me. I would not have my enemies think I quaked from fear.”
The painting found in the Bloody Tower is set to be revealed to the public tomorrow and will feature in a new Channel 5 documentary, Inside The Tower of London, which begins on Tuesday.
Historians are now taking a closer look at the painting to see if they can conclusively determine if it is of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Dr Agnieszka Sadraei, HRP’s historic buildings curator, said: ‘We are hoping further investigation will prove that it is connected to Raleigh, which would be absolutely fantastic.’
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