Portrait of Sir John Scudamore (1540-1623), of Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, three-quarter-length, in a black doublet and ruff, and fur-lined mantle, with a bust profile miniature pinned to his hose, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword

A Gentleman Usher at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, the sitter was the son of William Scudamore (d. 1560), of Ocle Lyre, Herefordshire and his wife, Ursula (d. 1560), daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Pakington, of Westwood, Worcestershire. The sitter's grandfather, John Scudamore (d. 1571), built up the family estates from the spoils of the dissolved monasteries, most notably the lands of Dore Abbey in western Herefordshire, and rebuilt Holme Lacy House in brick in the 1540s.

Scudamore entered the Inner Temple before becoming a courtier in 1572, as a Gentleman Pensioner. His marriage in 1574 to Mary (d. 1603), daughter of Sir John Shelton of Norfolk, and Lady of the Bedchamber to Elizabeth I, greatly strengthened his position at court. Bolstered further by his friendship with the 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, Scudamore rose as a local magnate in Herefordshire; as Member of Parliament between 1571 and 1589, and High Sheriff in 1581. He was knighted in 1592 and was made standard-bearer of the Gentlemen Pensioners in 1599.