Crests

[poliphilo]

What one earth...?

But they were never intended to be shown this way; their proper context- is/was above the stalls of the Garter Knights in St George's Chapel, Windsor.

There are only 24 knights at any given time. When one dies their seat in the chapel is given to someone else- and their crest is discarded. These are some of those crests- all, I believe, 20th century. It would be a melancholy collection- redolent of mortality and all that- if it wasn't such fun. They're currently on display in the great gatehouse at Layer Marney Tower.

There are the crests of some significant people in the mix- including that of Sir Winston Churchill- but I couldn't tell you which was whose- I just see them as pretty toys- the sort of thing that might come out of a Christmas cracker (a very big and expensive one) or an oversized Faberge Easter egg. This is the one I wanted to take home with me...