30cm (14.5in) x 36.5cm (14.2in) x 25cm (10in)
Polychromed lime wood. A hand carved painted heraldic crest in the form of a demi-lion holding a wreath for display over a the stall of a senior Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB) in the Henry VII Chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey.
Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman, GCB, GCVO, RN (1848-1929) was Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet with a stint as Second Sea Lord. He became First Sea Lord in November 1911 but clashed with First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill on technical issues as well as matters relating to naval traditions. Churchill's actions drove Bridgeman to the point of taking his case to the Prime Minister H.H. Asquith and King George V. Churchill responded by demanding Bridgeman’s resignation on grounds of ill health gleaned from private correspondence.
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Famed for its spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling, Henry VII or The Lady Chapel is the burial place of fifteen kings and queens and the final resting place o the Princes in the Tower. The chapel has also been the mother church of the Order of the Bath since 1725. However owing to the limited space only the crests and banners of the most senior knights have been displayed.