Man finds 400-year-old paintings hidden in his kitchen during renovation work

A history love r has stumbled upon paintings ‘of national significance’ while renovating his kitchen.

Dr Luke Budworth, 29, discovered ancient friezes that may date back to 1660 at his home in Micklegate, York.

Experts have named it an ‘exciting rediscovery’ and say it will provide insight about the history of the street.

Luke knew there was an ‘odd piece’ of his wall but says it’s ‘bonkers’ that he found a part of history.

Kitchen fitters found the first piece of the painting under his kitchen cupboard.

It features scenes from a 1635 book called Emblems written by poet Francis Quarles.

Not long after, Luke discovered more pieces boarded up below his ceiling on both sides of his chimney.

The medical researcher at Leeds University said: ‘When they found it I knew there was a parallel piece of wood on the other side of the chimney that could have the same thing.

‘I never thought anything of it before, I thought they were pipes behind it.

‘’We always knew there was an odd piece of the wall but just thought the flat was really wonky as it’s been a million different things over the years.

‘I got really excited, grabbed my tools and started ripping it off. At first I thought it was old Victorian wallpaper, but soon I could see it was actually drawn onto the wall of the building next door – so it’s older than this building itself.

‘It’s estimated that it’s from around the 1660s, so the civil war era. It’s bonkers to think that it was here before things like the great fire of London and things like that.’

Luke, originally from Warrington, Cheshire, was drawn to York in 2020 for the city’s historical significance.

‘To know that the history isn’t just outside it’s inside my flat too is amazing’, he said.

He is hoping to secure funding for conservation work and has urged other people in Micklegate to ‘start looking at their own walls suspiciously’.

Historic England has helped to cover the friezes to preserve them.

A spokesman for Historic England said: ‘We think they are of national significance and in the context of York, where domestic wall paintings are quite rare, they are of special interest.’’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]

For more stories like this, check our news page.

First appear at Man finds 400-year-old paintings hidden in his kitchen during renovation work