Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 10 minutes ago
Does the NIDD HALL PORTRAIT show Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour? At first glance, the woman in the picture wearing an AB brooch must surely be Anne for those were her initials and she’s wearing the famous Tudor consort necklace, seen in another image of her and in portraits of three of Henry VIII’s other wives. This portrait pattern also reappears in a 1618 engraving by Renold Elstrack and published by Henry Holland in a book called Baziliwlogia, where it is also identified as Anne. Further weight seemed to be added to the argument in 2015 when numerous media outlets reported that facial recognition software had matched the Nidd Hall portrait to the famous portrait medal of Anne Boleyn created in 1534 and held by the British Museum. As this medal (known as ‘the moost happi’ medal because it bears Anne’s motto) is the only confirmed, contemporary likeness of her, if this was true it would have been an important factor in identifying the sitter.
Unfortunately, there are numerous problems with associating the Nidd Hall portrait, which is now owned by the Mountgarret family and kept in Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, with the mother of Elizabeth I. She looks nothing like Anne’s other portraits in which the Queen usually wears her famous B pendant and instead more closely resembles Jane Seymour (assuming the AB brooch was a later addition to the picture). The engraving seems to be a copy of Jane’s portrait in the famous Whitehall Mural by Hans Holbein and the researchers behind the facial recognition software have stated that their findings were misrepresented by the media. So what can we make of all this? In today’s six wives documentary from History Calling we look at this piece of Tudor art history and ask, is the Nidd Hall portrait Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour, or is she simply a mystery woman, whose name is lost to time?
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
ANNE BOLEYN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HsAlbXfzj7ifkvNyfxzXfo
ART HISTORY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Eh4LJzcqLO_ayueqJt8ao-
DOES THE CHEQUERS’ RING SHOW A PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/hvgl1Wbjw1I
ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLACE
youtu.be/RrODYM4mRdM
TUDOR QUEENS’ CONSORT NECKLACE
youtu.be/Yrs5FvcDlvs
THE FACE OF JANE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/RgzPmuUA5EA
THOMAS AND GEORGE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/alwd73M0tik
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
Roland Hui, ‘A Reassessment of Queen Anne Boleyn’s Portraiture’
(tudorfaces.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-reassessment-of-queen-anne-boleyns.html) (accessed 1 Feb. 2024).
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
amzn.to/3zznLY1
Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
amzn.to/2W9oJct
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
Thumbnail: Nidd Hall portrait. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Does the NIDD HALL PORTRAIT show Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour? At first glance, the woman in the picture wearing an AB brooch must surely be Anne for those were her initials and she’s wearing the famous Tudor consort necklace, seen in another image of her and in portraits of three of Henry VIII’s other wives. This portrait pattern also reappears in a 1618 engraving by Renold Elstrack and published by Henry Holland in a book called Baziliwlogia, where it is also identified as Anne. Further weight seemed to be added to the argument in 2015 when numerous media outlets reported that facial recognition software had matched the Nidd Hall portrait to the famous portrait medal of Anne Boleyn created in 1534 and held by the British Museum. As this medal (known as ‘the moost happi’ medal because it bears Anne’s motto) is the only confirmed, contemporary likeness of her, if this was true it would have been an important factor in identifying the sitter.
Unfortunately, there are numerous problems with associating the Nidd Hall portrait, which is now owned by the Mountgarret family and kept in Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, with the mother of Elizabeth I. She looks nothing like Anne’s other portraits in which the Queen usually wears her famous B pendant and instead more closely resembles Jane Seymour (assuming the AB brooch was a later addition to the picture). The engraving seems to be a copy of Jane’s portrait in the famous Whitehall Mural by Hans Holbein and the researchers behind the facial recognition software have stated that their findings were misrepresented by the media. So what can we make of all this? In today’s six wives documentary from History Calling we look at this piece of Tudor art history and ask, is the Nidd Hall portrait Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour, or is she simply a mystery woman, whose name is lost to time?
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
ANNE BOLEYN PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HsAlbXfzj7ifkvNyfxzXfo
ART HISTORY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Eh4LJzcqLO_ayueqJt8ao-
DOES THE CHEQUERS’ RING SHOW A PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/hvgl1Wbjw1I
ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLACE
youtu.be/RrODYM4mRdM
TUDOR QUEENS’ CONSORT NECKLACE
youtu.be/Yrs5FvcDlvs
THE FACE OF JANE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/RgzPmuUA5EA
THOMAS AND GEORGE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/alwd73M0tik
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
Roland Hui, ‘A Reassessment of Queen Anne Boleyn’s Portraiture’
(tudorfaces.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-reassessment-of-queen-anne-boleyns.html) (accessed 1 Feb. 2024).
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
amzn.to/3zznLY1
Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
amzn.to/2W9oJct
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
Thumbnail: Nidd Hall portrait. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
