Thomas Beard, 'Under Sheriff'

Ward's plate presents Thomas Beard in full ceremonial dress of the Under-Sheriff of London: black velvet court coat with silver buttons, knee breeches, silk stockings, buckled shoes, a lace jabot and cuffs, and the distinctive cocked hat of civic office. He is shown in three-quarter profile, walking stick tucked under his arm, white-haired and bearded, with the self-important bearing that Ward reliably found in legal officeholders. The caption simply reads *'Under Sheriff'*—a position then responsible for executing court orders and managing the City's judicial machinery. The portrait gently mocks the pomp of a largely ceremonial role by rendering its incumbent as a figure of magnificent, slightly comic dignity.