The Smoking Room

The builder of Beningbrough, John Bourchier, probably used this as his business room. In the cornice are some of the bold wood carvings for which the house is justly famous.

The portraits relate to the 1688 Revolution, which deposed the Catholic James II from the throne and replaced him with the Protestant William of Orange. The seven bishops who opposed James II's Catholic religious policy, and were imprisoned in the Tower of London for their pains, are commemorated in the painting to the left of the entrance door. Between the windows is a fine late seventeenth-century Boulle bureau Mazarin of ebony, inlaid with brass.

Download In focus: Smoking Room

Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery on display:

The Seven Bishops Committed to the Tower in 1688 (William Lloyd; Francis Turner; John Lake; William Sancroft; Thomas Ken; Thomas White; Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bt)
by Unknown artist
circa 1688
oil on canvas
38 in. x 33 in. (965 mm x 838 mm)
NPG 79

James Vernon
1646-1727
Secretary of State
by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt
1677
oil on canvas, feigned oval
29 1/2 in. x 24 1/2 in. (749 mm x 622 mm)
NPG 2963

Samuel Clarke
1675-1729
Metaphysician
by Jamé Verhych
1719
platinated lead bust
23 5/8 in. (600 mm)
NPG 4838

William III
1650-1702
Reigned 1689-1702
by Unknown artist
circa 1690
oil on canvas
85 1/2 in. x 68 1/4 in. (2162 mm x 1746 mm)
NPG 1026

Samuel Pepys
1633-1703
Diarist and naval administrator
by John Closterman
circa 1690-1700
oil on canvas, oval
29 in. x 23 in. (737 mm x 584 mm)
NPG 2100

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 22 November 2008