Sir Hugh Wyndham (1602-1684), Judge of Common Pleas

Sir Hugh Wyndham was part of a special commission of royal Judges – the Fire Court – appointed to deal with compensation claims after the Great Fire of London in 1666. A commission of surveyors was previously appointed to assess the damage and put forward proposals for rebuilding London. The Fire Judges got involved in the numerous disagreements between tenants and their landlords over extending leases to compensate them for their costs. The obligation to rebuild was placed on lease tenants, however, those who could not rebuild properties within the specified period also had to be compensated for the loss of their lease when the right to rebuild was sold to someone who could undertake it.
In recognition of their important work, as they were pivotal for the progress of rebuilding the city, the Court of Aldermen commissioned portraits of the Fire Judges, to hang in the newly restored Guildhall. John Michael Wright was given the commission for 22 portraits in 1675. A major restoration in 1779-80 may have involved scouring off Wright’s original paint to allow the restorer to paint over the top, hence little of Wright’s handiwork remained to be seen. Four portraits now belong to Lincoln’s Inn and others survive elsewhere, but only two full-length portraits remain in the City’s art collection.