More from Historic Ipswich

Dieu Et mon droit, motto of the United Kingdom (but only used outside Scotland) meaning  God and my right, on a scroll beneath the shield of the royal coat of arms was first used by Richard I as a battle cry, presumably referring to the divine right to govern and later adopted by Henry V,  with the words "and my right" understood to refer to his claim to the French crown. The arms and crest are still in use all over England, richly emblazoned with gold, as in my photograph taken yesterday in Ipswich where it decorates the 15th century Ancient House in the historic Buttermarket area.

Another feature of the royal arms is the inscription "honi soit qvi mal y pense", the old French for "shame upon him who thinks evil of it", motto of the Order of the Garter founded circa 1348 by Edward III and is said to refer to an incident when a lady's garter slipped from her leg whilst dancing with the King, who picked it up and tied it to his own leg, and reproached sniggering onlookers with those words - in French of course, the language of the Court at that time.

But that is not all that earns The Ancient House its recognition as a Grade I listed building; it also has some of the finest examples of pargetting (plasterwork decoration) depicting The Four Continents  - America, Europe, Africa and Asia (because Australasia had not yet been recognized as a continent) illustrated with somewhat fanciful impressions of life in those parts, as  seen in my 'extras' today.