Ledston Hall, Lady Betty Hasting’s Room

Slide 15: The interior of this fine old Mansion is most interesting, bearing come similarity to Haddon Hall. In the room known as “Lady Betty Hasting’s Room” is a fine panelled oaken mantelpiece, bearing the date 1588, and the initials W.W, and E.W., which refer to members of the Witham family. This ancient woodwork for some reasons or other appears to have been hidden from sight for more than a century, and was only restored in 1904, being stripped of its thick layers of paint revealing a unique specimen of 16th Century carving in a splendid state of preservation. Another interesting art treasure in this room is the life-size oil painting of Lady Betty Hastings painted in 1709 when that noble Lady would be about 28 years of age.