Mystery by if1

Mystery

343 - Today's shot contains a mystery. In Stonegate, York is a clothing shop called Jigsaw. The building that it is in is an attractive double fronted property.

Above the door is a crest, shown close-up in the shot on the right. On the Jigsaw website it is described as a royal crest, and similar reference is made on other internet sources that I have checked. Sadly, I can find no other historical information about it.

Which member of the royal family had this crest? I've found no record of any royal crest with two quadrants of diamonds. Why is it over the entrance to this particular building? Who created it and when?

Sorry, I have no answers. My research will continue, but in the meantime if any of you have any suggestions, I would be interested to hear them.
Very interesting shot and story Ian. That shop front looks like it could come out of a Charles Dickens' novel!
Sorry, no idea about the crest.
February 11th, 2013  
I will be interested to hear what you find out. You captured the front of the shop nicely.
February 11th, 2013  
Another lovely shot. I envy you the history you are able to snap. New Zealand dosen;t have a lot of old buildings and out 'old' isn't as old as the UK. The ones we do have, especially where I live, have mostly been destroyed by the earthquake, shut down to decide whether they are to be demolished or strengthened or are waiting to be pulled down. I love your photos :)
February 11th, 2013  
Great shop front and interesting history
February 11th, 2013  
Like the shop front, but no idea about the crest.
February 11th, 2013  
Well, a new hobby and works is waiting for you . History investigations.
We can get answers at the town hall , sometimes we have history museum and by land registry And we have a lot of history society`s
Love that front of the shop and the beautiful crest .
We have in our country a `` Heraldiek genootschap`` that`s where all crest are to be found and described
February 11th, 2013  
Beautiful images, Ian. I'll look forward to hearing what you discover.
February 11th, 2013  
Attractive shop front, but I've no idea about the crest.
February 11th, 2013  
Interesting shot Ian. The only thing I have been able to find describes this as 'a spurious cartouche of arms' !!
February 11th, 2013  
Lee
Interesting shot and a curious puzzle. There are many interesting things in york!
February 11th, 2013  
Love the images Ian and I'm surprised the history has stumped you - that doesn't happen often. Most likely you've tried this but if not a "search by image" in Google could be rewarding.
February 11th, 2013  
Wow, that's an impressive shop front, Ian! Nicely captured with detail of the coat of arms.
February 12th, 2013  
Great find and a nice puzzle. Sorry to ask the obvious, but did you ask the store proprietor? Let us know what you find out.
February 12th, 2013  
Nice shot and look forward to seeing if you can solve this mystery
February 12th, 2013  
wow very interesting
February 12th, 2013  
thats very interesting, thanks for sharing!
February 12th, 2013  
good luck solving your mystery!
February 12th, 2013  
I agree, very interesting mystery!
February 12th, 2013  
I hope you will find answer soon.
February 12th, 2013  
Cool!
February 13th, 2013  
some interesting history when we bother to look upwards from street level. You're a master at this Ian.
February 13th, 2013  
Thank you all for your interesting comments. At the moment the mystery remains unsolved, although the comment on this that @purplehaze12 found - 'a spurious cartouche of arms' rather supports my own suspicions that it might be decorative rather than genuine! I haven't been back into town since so no more research there, and the various websites and books I use on York's history have not furnished any more information, which again suggests it could be a fake. If I can confirm a solution, I will let you all know!

@steviepix @fullcircle @witchyjacq @malc @busylady @pyrrhula @cathieg @dolphin @purplehaze12 @gamelee @tonydebont @rhos @frankhymus @bkbinthecity @steeler @nicoleterheide @comicbooklady @gnilrets @vesna0210 @loopdeloup @doodlerdeb
February 13th, 2013  
lovely storefront. wonderful capture, Ian
February 17th, 2013  
My speculation was that it is a "made up" coat of arms and reading the comments - particularly that from @purplehaze12 seem to support this. The lack of a motto is also odd.
So you may be looking for something that does not exist!
You could try the Royal College of Arms for a definitive answer.
Thanks for a good photo collage and a interesting speculation.
February 18th, 2013  
@lizzybean

Thank you Lizzy - York has quite a lot of Georgian shop fronts which make a very attractive street scene.
February 18th, 2013  
@andrewrome365

Thank you David - I haven't been into the city centre recently, so no more research yet, but I will try to find out more information!
February 18th, 2013  
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