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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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King's Beasts
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A set of ten heraldic sculptures on either side of the bridge leading into *Hampton Court. Each of the beasts holds a coat of arms, five of them relating to the ancestry of *Henry VIII and five to *Jane Seymour, mother of his only son, *Edward VI. They are modern versions of ten of the twelve commissioned for the bridge by Henry in 1536. The original set was destroyed in the late 17C. Ten installed in 1909 became so eroded that they were replaced by the present carvings in 1950. A similar group, that of the *Queen's Beasts, was created in 1953.
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