Wall monument in Fethard

Currently placed within a niche in the S wall of the nave, towards the W end, of the medieval parish church of St John the Baptist (TS070-040001-), currently Holy Trinity C of I church. This fragment consists of the lower dexter portion of an armorial plaque (H 0.65; Wth 0.46m) bearing the royal arms with an inscription 'VIVE LE R[OY]' along the bottom. The arms had been erroneously ascribed to Edward VI but more recent research has shown them to be the arms of Henry VIII (pers. comm. Tim Robinson 2008). The quartered shield bears the three lions passant gardant of England and the three fleur-de-lis of France with a crest of an arched crown. Only the dexter supporters survives, a dragon regardant (looking backwards) (Crotty 2012, 28). Only Henry VII and Henry VIII used the dragon as a supporter (ibid.). The companion supporter, now missing, was the white greyhound of the Beauforts (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 4 March 2015