Renaissance Treasures of Bretton Hall

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Bretton Hall – Henry VIII Parlour

In February 1947, during negotiations for the sale of Bretton Hall to the Yorkshire West Riding County Council, Sir Wentworth Henry Canning Beaumont (2nd Viscount Allendale) donated the panelling and furnishings of the King Henry Parlour to Temple Newsam House, where it may now be seen.

The contents of this room had originally stood in a parlour in the first of the three known houses that formed part of the Bretton Estate, which during the sixteenth century was owned by Thomas Wentworth - Knight Marshall in the reign of Henry VIII.

The walls in the Bretton Room at Temple Newsam House are lined with oak carved linen-fold panelling. The furniture consists of two beds, a livery cupboard and sundry small items.  The larger of the two beds is known as Henry VIII’s bed because it was thought that the monarch slept at Bretton Hall on one of his visits to the North. (Although there is no evidence to suggest that Henry VIII  actually made a visit to Bretton, it would not be unreasonable to suppose that he had been expected to do so.)