Thomas Holcroft, Tenant Farmer

Hannah Maria Hudson (fl.1835). Oil painting on canvas, Thomas Holcroft, Tenant Farmer by Hannah Maria Hudson (fl.1835), dated 1835. A half-length portrait of a mature man, turned slightly to the left, gazing at the spectator, seated in a high-backed chair, wearing a black coat, dark embroidered waistcoat, white shirt and blackstock. He holds a wheatsheaf in his right hand (which is a reference to the Hesketh coat of arms) and is balding with grey hair and sideburns. He was a prosperou farmer on the Ruffiord estate in the early 19th century. He is shown seated in an Ormskirk chair holding three ears of corn, perhaps as a refereence to the three wheatsheaves in the Heskth coat of arms Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire (Accredited Museum)