English School, 1567

Richard Harford was born in 1526. In 1566 both he and his father were accused of concealing the advowson of a living from Queen Elizabeth I. Shortly thereafter, his first wife, Katherine Purefoy, died childless at Bosbury in July 1570. The following year, Richard married Martha, daughter of Charles Foxe of Brimfield. She brought him a large dowry, which cut him loose of the meager bounty prescribed by his father's will and made it possible for him to indulge his taste for architecture and decoration.
His portrait shows an imposing figure in black cloak and pinked silk doublet with a standing collar. The coat-of-arms at upper right incorporates the heraldry of Martha Foxe and must, therefore, have been added subsequent to the completion of the painting in 1567.