History - Family Portraits
Sir Arthur Ingram (C1565/70-1642) by George Geldorp (fl 1610-1653)
84 X 57½ inches (213 X 146 cm)
This portrait (and a 19th century copy) are the only surviving images of the great financier who rose from
relatively humble origins to become one of the wealthiest men in the country and the owner of the most
extensive estates in Yorkshire. His fortune was based on his Controllership of the Customs for the port
of London and later his position as Secretary of the Council of the North. From these he was able to take
advantage of farming the royal monopolies and taxes, equipping expeditions to the New World, and speculating
in property. However, on becoming Cofferer to the King's household in 1615 he found himself blackballed from
court on account of his lowly birth and sharp business practices.
Thereafter he concentrated his interests in the North, building new mansions on the site of the former
Archbishop's Palace in York and at Sheriff Hutton (1619), at New Park (1640), and purchasing Temple Newsam
from the Duke of Lennox for £12,000 (1622).
The archives reveal various payments made to Geldorp between November 1638 and January 1639 amounting to over
£40 which must be connected with this portrait. These include 10/6d for 'hooks to hang up the great picture'.
Four days after Sir Arthur's death in 1642 a footman, Nobbs, was paid 6d to 'go with my Mr draught of his
picture & his clothes to Mr Geldorp' and this posthumous sketch is mentioned in the various Temple Newsam
inventories until c1721.
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