Mansion House Antiques & Fine Art

Description

INSTALMENT TERMS AVAILABLE UP TO 4 MTHS MAX

A Fine 18thc Large Scale Oil Painting on canvas depicting a group of bearded Bandits drinking ale and smoking their clay pipes in their encampment in Dalby Forest near Mainsforth Hall,Mainsforth County Durham.
The moonlit evening sky illuminates their faces.
The bandits are depicted with three of their working dogs both resting by their owners sides.
In the forground a muskett can be seen lying on the dusty ground,with a large jug resting on a stone.
One Bandit is seen playing a hand of cards.

ABOUT MAINSFORTH
MAINSFORTH, a township in Bishop-Middleham parish, Durham, on the river Little Skerne near the Darlington railway, 7½ miles E of Bishop-Auckland. Acres, 627. Real property, £586. Pop., 58. Houses, 10. Mainsforth Hall belonged to the Huttons passed to the Surteeses and is notable for the residence in it of the late Robert Surtees, the county historian and antiquary. Sir Walter Scott often visited it and he planted an oak tree, which flourishes at the end of the houseterrace.

HISTORY. (Mainsforth Hall)
Mainsforth is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the east of Ferryhill, and lies within the ecclesiastical parish of Bishop Middleham The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble (Narble Hill).

Mainsforth Hall was a significant building in the centre of this small village, until its demolition in the 1960s. The Hall was for many years the dwelling of the Surtees family. The most famous member of the family was Robert Surtees (1779-1834), the great County Durham historian.

Today the hamlet contains several farms and older cottages and some modern executive style detached dwellings. It retains its character principally because of the many trees in the village and because of the retention of the wall of Mainsforth Hall in the centre of the village.

Lord Robert Surtees, a descendant of the ancient family of Surtees of Low Dinsdale Manor also acquired the old manor house and estate at Redworth.

Redworth Hall is a 17th-century country house at Redworth, Heighington, County Durham, England now converted to a hotel. It is a listed building.

Robert Surtees The Elder carried out substantial rebuilding work in 1744, incorporating some of the 17th fabric. He created an impressive sandstone mansion of two storeys and gabled attics to which further extensions were added in 1820 by his nephew and heir, Robert Smith Surtees who High Sheriff of Durham in 1855.

Robert Surtees (antiquarian) of Mainforth Hall (now demolished) was a great nephew of the elder Robert.

The Surtees family lived at Redworth until the death in 1955 of Henry SB Surtees (High Sheriff in 1929).

FRAME:
This very decorative swept frame is craftman made to a high standard and is finished in a rich antique gold leaf with moulded canthas leaf design.

CONDITION:
The canvas has a good secure old relining and one tiny patch,well repaired to rear.
The painted surfaces are stable with only minor craquelure,still retaining the original rich colours.
There are slight signs of some careful minor retouching as expected after 240 yrs.
There are no thinned or faded areas.

Painted as a moonlit scene in a darkened forest setting, this painting benefits greatly from having a strong picture light above the canvas.

MEASUREMENTS(Including Frame)
Height: 51 Inches
Width 70 Inches.
Depth 5 Inches

Last sold at the NEC Birmingham.

SIGNATURE:(See Last Image 15)Right hand Margin / Mid
Inscribed: Robt.Surtees Pinxt
Mainsforth
1775

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