Garter stall plate

Garter stall plates are small enamelled brass plates located in St George's Chapel displaying the names and arms of the Knights of the Garter. Each knight is allotted a stall in St George's Chapel and the stall plate is affixed to his personal stall. His successor knight in that stall adds his own stall plate and thus a fairly complete series of stall plates survives for the successive occupants of each stall. Many other ancient European Orders of Chivalry use similar stall plates in the home church or other building of their order.

Stall plates are important for several reasons:

King Henry VIII (1509-1547) made a statute of the Order of the Garter relating to stall plates as follows:

"It is agreed that every knyght within the yere of his stallation shall cause to be made a scauchon of his armes and hachementis in a plate of metall suche as shall please him and that it shall be surely sett upon the back of his stall. And the other that shall come after shall have their scochons and hachements in like manner; but their plates of metall nor their hachements shall not be soo large nor soo greatte as they of the first Founders were excepte strangers which may use their plates and fashions at their pleasure"

John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1403-1444)

Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (c.1405-1483)

Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (d. 1509)

Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex (d. 1540)

George, 5th Earl Cadogan (1840-1915)

Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester (c. 1460-1526)

Walter Blount, 1st Baron Mountjoy (c. 1416-1474)

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