When I was renovating my kitchen, I discovered a 400-year-old mural – it was hidden from view

A man has revealed how he discovered a 400-year-old mural hidden in plain sight on a wall in his apartment.

dr Luke Budworth, 29, was shocked to spot a row of friezes at his home in Micklegate, North Yorkshire.

Earlier this year, the medical researcher, who works at Leeds University, welcomed builders to his home to have a new kitchen fitted.

While working on the property, the team discovered the first piece of the painting, which depicts scenes from a 1635 book titled Emblems, written by poet Francis Quarles.

Luke explained, “The first people to originally find it were the kitchen fitters who saw it under my kitchen cabinet.

dr Luke Budworth, 29, pictured with the 400-year-old painting at his home in Micklegate, North Yorkshire

“When they found it, I know there was a parallel piece of wood on the other side of the chimney that might have the same thing.

“I never thought anything of it before, I thought there were pipes behind it.”

Explaining that the mural had been hiding from public view for years, he continued, “We always knew there was an odd piece of the wall, but we just thought the apartment was really rickety as it’s changed over the years a million different things.”

Originally from Cheshire, the history buff says he was originally drawn to Yorkshire for its cultural significance.

After discovering a piece of history in his own home, Luke said he couldn’t help but tear down the multi-layered wallpaper to reveal more of the 17th-century painting.

He continued: “At first I thought it was an old Victorian wallpaper, but soon I could see that it was actually painted on the wall of the building next door – so it predates that building itself.

“It’s estimated to be from the 1660s, so the Civil War period.

“It’s crazy to think it was here before things like the great fire of London and things like that happened.”

dr Budworth now hopes to secure funding for restoration work on the painting

The mural depicts scenes from a 1635 book entitled Emblems, written by the poet Francis Quarles (pictured).

After uncovering all the friezes in his apartment, Luke is now hoping for it Secure funding for restoration work to be carried out on the painting and help learn about the area’s social history.

He continued: ‘I’m very excited to have found them and to love them, but they’re also kind of a burden. As far as I know there is no outside funding and the conservation fees are thousands of pounds.

“I’ve covered them for now so they don’t get hit by direct sunlight and lose their color.”

Until then, he currently has a replica of the historical artwork on display in his home study.

Luke added: “We printed out a high-resolution version of this and placed the replica on top to cover it up.

Until he secured funding, Dr. Budworth displayed the mural in his home office and covered it with a replica of the painting to keep it from being damaged by light

Historic England said the painting was an “exciting rediscovery” and that Luke’s mural was of “particular interest”.

“Hopefully we can spread the word and see if any societies or graduate students want to do some experimental conservation projects.

“I also hope this inspires other people on Micklegate to take a suspicious look at their own walls.”

Historic England’s chief architectural researcher for the northern region said Luke’s friezes are an “exciting rediscovery”.

“We believe they are of national importance and of particular interest in the context of York where residential murals are quite rare,” he said.

A spokesman for Historic England said: “We believe they are of national importance and are of particular interest in the context of York where residential murals are quite rare.”