A PORTRAIT taken to historic East Riddlesden Hall is only the second painting staff have ever seen of someone who lived at the 17th-century manor house.

The picture portrays Agnes Grange, who was born at the hall in 1828 and lived there until her father died 12 years later.

Ancestors of Agnes – Louise Wallace, and her sister Helen Mather – took the portrait along to the hall, now a National Trust property, to show it to the team.

The painting's usual home is on the landing of Louise's house at Chorlton, Manchester.

"It was very nice to take Agnes back to the hall," says Louise, 55, an illustrator.

"It did feel a bit surreal ­— she looked like she belonged there.

"People who come around to my home often comment that they’ve never been to a house where there’s a portrait of a family member from the 1800s."

The painting was inherited by Agnes’ sister, Mary Driver, and passed down through the generations.

It's believed to date from around 1850 – a decade after Agnes left the hall.

It may have been commissioned at the time of her wedding in 1849. There are red and white roses in the vase behind her, which seem likely to symbolise the marriage of Yorkshire 'girl' Agnes to Lancashire-born Thomas Webster.

Agnes went on to have nine children and saw out her days in Liverpool with Thomas.

The collection at the hall includes a needlework sampler created by Agnes a year after the death of her father, Areton, in tragic circumstances in 1840.

Areton is reported to have jumped into the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to save a man from drowning, and died after contracting a lung infection. Agnes' mother Ann died in October, 1842.

Whilst the portrait is remaining with the family, hall staff are planning to use Agnes' story and image in interpretation boards.

Matthew Constantine, cultural heritage curator for the National Trust, said: "We're absolutely delighted that the family brought in this portrait of Agnes.

"With few surviving records relating to the people who lived at the hall over the centuries, it has been fantastic to come face-to-face with someone who must have known this place intimately almost 200 years ago and learn more about the details of her life.

"We look forward to sharing her story with visitors for years to come."

For more about the hall, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/east-riddlesden-hall.