ENGLISH, 16TH CENTURY STYLE, PROBABLY CIRCA 1840

These heraldic beasts represent the White Greyhound of Richmond and the Silver Yale of Beaufort. The White Greyhound was the badge of John of Gaunt, the son of Edward III, but was also used later by Henry IV and, particularly, Henry VII. The other mythical beast, the Silver Yale, was said to be white and covered in golden spots, was also taken up by Henry VII, who inherited it from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. The beasts were previously thought to be Tudor in origin, but their casting technique betrays them to be later creations. In fact, our beasts relate to two of four stone beasts situated above the entrance to the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey and it is likely that the current pair were cast using moulds taken from the Westminster Abbey beasts when the Chapel was restored in the mid-nineteenth century.