• Speaker of the House of Commons Arrives at Torre Abbey
    23/05/2009

    Not the beleaguered Rt. Hon Michael Martin MP but one of his 17th Century predecessors, Sir Edward Seymour. A portrait of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet, painted by Sir Peter Lely, has been loaned to Torre Abbey by the National Portrait Gallery in London. The portrait of Sir Edward now has pride of place in the Abbey’s gallery of military and battle paintings. 

    Sir Edward Seymour was born at Berry Pomeroy Castle and was a descendant of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. A branch of the Seymour family had briefly owned Torre Abbey immediately following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1673 to 1678 during his time as MP for Totnes. 

    The portrait was identified by the National Portrait Gallery as one that should feature in the recently restored galleries at Torre Abbey. 

    Keeper of Art at Torre Abbey, Amelia Marriette, “We were visited by the National Portrait Gallery’s head of loans and he thought that the restoration of Torre Abbey was spectacular. Although the NPG had already identified this portrait, we had to make a formal application to bid for the loan. Part of the application involved checks on lighting and evidence of regular humidity and temperature checks in the galleries. We are delighted to have this endorsement from the National Portrait Gallery and hope that this will be the start of a new partnership that could bring many more exciting works to the Torre Abbey Galleries. Our ambition is to work with national and international establishments and artists to continue to bring exciting works and exhibitions to Torre Abbey.” 

    Click here to see details of the image on the National Portrait Gallery website.

    Sir Edward Seymour 1633-1708, by Sir Peter Lely 
    Oil on canvas, circa 1679, 50 1/8 in. x 40 1/4 in. (1273 mm x 1022 mm) 
    Purchased by the National Portrait Gallery, 1980

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