Story: Romulus and Remus were ‘gifted’ when they were around 16 to Lady Rockingham in 1776, two French horn playing footmen. From a still colonised America both the trend for the French horn and Black footman collided in the story of these two boys. One of the Rockingham properties was Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham. A solid reminder of what we can’t afford to forget. Stately homes are a complex ecosystem designed for the service of one family. Records of payments to Romulus and Remus, money spent on their clothing, medicine and even horn repair sit in the Sheffield Archive.
The recovery: Romulus and Remus, written as having outstanding musical ability, were boys. Let’s never forget that. And by the touching of the brown stained ledgers we see not only them, their enforced journey from enslavement, to working as footmen, to marriages, deaths, children, and friendship, but community. When one died, he left his horn to the other. Patty’s unique interpretation of the boys speaks to that community.
A deep dive into the archives, we found correspondence between the aristocratic estates regarding Romulus and Remus, listings of house staff memorandums that include Romulus and Remus, and receipts of payment which Romulus and Remus signed with their full names. There are still missing pieces to this story, although what we do know has now become the foundation of this unique legacy.
The inspiration to embark on the story of Romulus and Remus came following a visit to Wentworth Woodhouse. After a long walk around the grand estate that boasts approximately 15,000 acres of land, larger than that of Buckingham palace, I was bewildered by the lack of representation of black people who may have been significant to the estate.
Romulus and Remus, who are listed as footmen in the estate record books, were likely not to have been of much importance to have a portrait of themselves hanging in “The Painted Drawing Room” of Wentworth Woodhouse Estate, however their existence is now undeniable.
So, I created this piece, Title: Black Romulus and Remus. A portrait to commemorate a forgotten chapter of history. I have imagined the two young black men and included the traces of evidence of the story of these two young black men in 18th century South Yorkshire.
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