16th Century Painted Room, Ledbury

The 16th Century Painted Room is to be found in number one Church Street, Ledbury, one of the oldest timber-framed houses in the town. Tree-ring dating, carried out during the early part of the 21st century, showed that the oldest parts of the house date from 1510. It was here, in the upstairs room at the lower end of the house, that a wonderful discovery was made during extensive restoration works being carried out in the late 1980s. The workmen found that the walls had been covered, over the centuries, with layers of paint, plaster and wallpaper. They began to carefully peel back the layers on the fireplace wall, but almost immediately realised that there was painting hidden beneath and stopped work.

English Heritage was consulted, and a company of art restoration experts employed to clean off the accumulated layers. Dated to the 1560s, these are amongst the best surviving examples of the wall painting that was becoming fashionable during the Elizabethan era. In their homes, the merchant gentry began to recreate in paint, the very expensive leather wall hangings and tapestries found in the homes of the aristocracy.

Your visit will start with a friendly welcome from our guides who will give you a short, informative talk whilst you enjoy looking at the wall paintings. You will then have an opportunity to ask questions before taking a few minutes to look around at our displays.

N.B. We have no disabled access to the upper room.