An enormous oil painting of a horse and rider hanging in the National Trust property Croome Court commemorates an extraordinary bet between a couple of wealthy brothers-in-law.

At the end of the 17th century, Sir Henry Coventry, who owned the Worcestershire mansion, had a wager with Sir John Pakington, of the equally impressive Westwood House in Droitwich, over who had the fastest horse.

A race was arranged, with the pair shaking hands on the loser having to build a workhouse for the poor in the name of the winner. Sir John’s horse lost and he set to work on The Coventry Work House in The Holloway, Droitwich.

However, Sir John could not bear the financial burden and Sir Henry generously stepped in, buying the land on which the workhouse was built, plus three farms at Westwood House, renting them out to help fund the building.

The pair had overlooked the fact that Droitwich was a thriving industrial town with no need for a workhouse, and so the building became alms houses for poorer people who were no longer capable of working.

Measuring 15ft x 8ft, the painting, possibly by notable equestrian artist John Wooton, hung in Croome Court for nearly 250 years until the Coventry family had to sell their ancestral home and many of its contents.

It was presented to the Coventry Almhouses in 1948, returning to Croome Court on a long-term loan in 2011 as the National Trust began a project to return the Neo-Palladian mansion and its Capability Brown-designed park to their former glory.

”We are so proud to have this incredible painting back in the house and are extremely grateful to the charity’s trustees for agreeing to the loan,” said the Trust’s Sarah Kay at the time.

For more about the colourful Pakington family, see the ‘Westwood’ section.