Image Details

Lady Waterford Hall

The youthful King Josiah (he succeeded to the throne at age eight) stands before his subjects in this mural from Lady Waterford Hall in Ford Village, Northumberland, U.K. Zephaniah 1:1 tells us the prophet was active during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. His prophecies against idol worship closely parallel the concerns of the king, who by age 16, was conducting widespread religious reforms to counter idolatry and to centralize worship in the Jerusalem Temple.

Louisa Anne, Marchioness of Waterford, used villagers as models for the scenes painted between 1862 and 1883 on the walls of her hall, which served as the local school.