Quarry (one of a pair)

In the fifteenth century, diamond-shaped “quarries” (possibly from the French carré, for square) became popular within both domestic and clerical settings. These small panes were often emblazoned with heraldic motifs and set within a larger design of stained glass.

This pair features one of the many royal badges of the English King, Henry VII: a crowned, thorny sprig of hawthorn, flanked by the initials ‘H’ and ‘E’ for Henry and his queen, Elizabeth of York. According to legend, the Tudor Henry VII found the royal crown in a hawthorn bush, after triumphing over his predecessor, Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth Field during the Wars of the Roses. As a later writer would acknowledge, the emblem carried symbolic weight, as the crown came with “thornes of heavie care.”

The same device appeared—and can still be found—in royally patronized projects, such as the vibrant stained glass of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. Although these quarries were once thought to belong to Henry VII’s project at Westminster Abbey, the popularity of the design—also seen in various locations in Surrey—and its appearance in the emblem book Minerva Britanna (1612) suggest that these quarries could have been designed for a less powerful individual, eager to align with the Tudor monarch.

Unusually, the ‘E’ here is styled with stubby, straight lines, whereas other surviving examples employ a more gothic, curved stem that relates to the slightly ornamental arch of the ‘H.’ Both lettering styles are used in stained glass of the period, but the peculiarity does again suggest that these quarries were made by another workshop for a different project and patron.