Lock, Beddington Lock, London, 1539-1547

This lock has a central sliding plate, decorated with the arms of Henry VIII (ruled 1509-1547), which conceals two keyholes. The lock can be opened with one key by inserting a pin into its back. Locks - and ironwork - were valuable items, so high quality examples such as this one were often made to be portable.

The gilding on the Beddington lock is unusual but apparently original, and indicates its high status. People & Places The lock was originally on the door of the great hall at Beddington House, manor of the Carew family. The property was seized by Henry VIII when Sir Nicholas Carew was executed for treason in 1539. It remained in crown ownership until 1552. The heraldry suggests that this lock was made for Beddington after it became a royal manor. If so, it could be the work of the royal lockmaker Henry Romaynes (died 1553), who lived and worked in the parish of St Martin in the Fields, London. This lock is Gothic in style, despite its late date.

Smiths seem to have been conservative craftsmen and continued using Gothic motifs late into the 16th century. A comparable lock of similar style and date can be seen on doors in St George's Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire, and there is another in the collection of the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, USA. The Beddington Lock. Of rectangular form, decorated with plaques of Gothic openwork tracery and salomonic columns.This lock has a central sliding plate, decorated with the arms of Henry VIII (ruled 1509-1547), which conceals two keyholes.