It’s not just Football coming home this summer, the historic portrait of Thomas Phillips Price has been returned to his Essex estate

On Thursday 25thJuly 2022, the 112-year-old portrait of Thomas Phillips Price was re-acquired by Markshall Estate thanks to the efforts of Richard Tattersall, a past managing agent for the trustees at Markshall and now one of their patrons.

Staff and Trustees of Markshall Estate in Coggeshall celebrate the portrait of Thomas Phillips Price, who left the Essex estate to the nation in his will, coming home. A momentous occasion in the charity’s 50th anniversary year.

The portrait was painted by the British artist Henry Harris Brown in 1910, twelve years after Thomas Phillips Price’s purchase of Markshall Estate at auction in 1898. The stunning grounds of Markshall Estate were the backdrop of the portrait.

The portrait had been in the possession of the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport since 1966. The relationship between the two charitable trusts began when Sir Thomas Phillips, the former Mayor of Newport left the greater part of all his assets, including his Welsh estate, to his nephew Thomas Phillips Price who then went on to be the last private owner of Markshall Estate. In his 1927 will, Thomas Phillips Price left his Welsh estate to the Royal Gwent Hospital and his Essex estate to the nation. After his death in 1932, his widow May Phillips Price had a life interest in both her husband’s bequests until her death in 1966.

Dave Finkle, General Manager at Markshall Estate, adds, “The whole team is delighted that the Henry Harris Brown painting of Thomas Phillips Price is coming to us in the charity’s 50th anniversary year. It feels as though a part of the Estate’s history is coming home and we’re all excited to see its safe arrival and installation.”

Staff and trustees’ mission is to run the Essex estate “for the nation forever” stipulated in Thomas Phillips Price’s will. Dedication is evident across the whole team and community at Markshall Estate, past and present; no more so than that of Richard Tattersall, past managing agent for the trustees at Markshall and now one of our patrons, who made the journey to South Wales to collect the historic painting.

The Markshall Estate trust is currently researching the cost of restoring the painting to its original condition. Once the cost of the restoration has been confirmed, the charitable trust will set to work on raising the important funds needed to complete the restoration and a crowd funder will be part of this campaign.