British School (First Quarter 18th Century), "Portrait of a Member of the Offley Family, Possibly Urith Offley, Norton Hall, Sheffield", oil on canvas, later inscription lower left "Mrs Stephen Offley/ob 1711", 49-1/2" x 39-1/2". Presented in a later giltwood frame.The Offley family is an historically significant and socially and politically prominent British family. In the late 17th century, Robert Offley inherited the Sheffield County estate of Norton hall from his heirless uncle. While there is no record of when the first edifice was built upon the estate's acreage, it is believed to date from before the Norman Conquest of the 11th century; the building presently in situ dates to the early 19th century. One of Robert Offley's descendants and heirs, Stephen Offley, was named High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1716. This was a prestigious position, originally integrally involved in law enforcement, but now mainly ceremonial, and it is the oldest secular office under the Crown. A Urith Offley is mentioned in various contemporaneous and slightly later documents as Stephen Offley's daughter, heir, wife, etc. Since Stephen and Urith are two of the more prevalent family surnames, and appear across several centuries of the family's lineage, it is difficult to assert unequivocally that the sitter of this charming portrait is Urith. Through inheritence and marriage, the Offleys were associated with the equally prominent Shore and Nightingale families. One of the 19th century holders of Norton Hall, Offley Shore, was cousin to the Crimean War heroine Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). References: The English Reports-House of Lords (1677-1865), Volume I, London: Stevens & Sons, Limited, 1900, pp 565-568.; J. Bernard Burke, Esq. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland for 1852, Volume II , London: Colburn and Co., 1852, pp 1231 and 1232.