I have blogged about Patrick Damiaens, the talented Belgian heraldic and ornamental woodcarver, before, in this post. When he contacted me recently about some outstanding detective work he had done — following in the footsteps of famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot — I knew this would make a fascinating post.
Every year, Patrick visits the Antica art and antiques fair in Namur. On a stand of a Flemish art dealer, his attention was caught by a magnificent 80 cm-high alabaster carving of a coat of arms. It was exhibited on a pedestal and was described as being of German-Austrian origin from the mid-16th century.

The alabaster carving, including the coat of arms, discovered by Patrick Damiaens in an art fair in Namur, Belgium
As heraldry is a great interest of Patrick’s, he studied it closely and remarked to the art dealer that he thought the piece was more likely to be English rather than German. He got the art dealer’s approval to take some photographs of the item to do some research on it.
Hercule Poirot tapped his forehead: “These little grey cells. It is ‘up to them.’” (Agatha Christie)
Back home, Patrick put on his Hercule Poirot hat, opened his computer, got out his books and magazines, and contacted a friend in England, Richard Lichten, who was also a heraldry enthusiast. His friend suggested that the coat of arms displayed the crest of the English family Throckmorton. However, the Throckmortons of England are an extensive family covering many years, so more detective work was necessary.
Patrick could tell by the style of the shield, the ornamentation and layout that it dated back to the 16th century. A key discovery was a martlet in the shield. This is a stylized depiction of a bird like a swallow. In heraldry, a martlet indicates the fourth son. Combined with the date, this narrowed down the coat of arms to that of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (1515/1516 — 1571).
Arise Sir Nicholas!
Patrick was shocked to discover that it was Sir Nicholas’ coat of arms, as he was a prominent English diplomat and politician. The fourth of eight children of Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Sir Nicholas was a close advisor to Elizabeth I, played an important role in the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots, and between 1559 and 1564 was Ambassador to France.
However, in 1569, Throckmorton was suspected of involvement in the conspiracy against the Duke of Norfolk and was locked up in Windsor Castle. Although he was not brought to trial, he never regained the  trust of Queen Elizabeth I, and died in 1571.
If that had been the end of the story, Patrick had already made an important discovery, but there was a question that needed answering …
How did the coat of arms end up in Belgium?
In his research, Patrick found out that Sir Nicholas Throckmorton had been buried in St Katharine Cree church in London. In his memory, a monument was erected in the church. Patrick discovered a 1793 engraving that showed the Throckmorton monument in its complete state, including the coat of arms.

An engraving of the monument to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton clearly shows the alabaster carving in pride of place
However, later photographs showed the monument without the Throckmorton coat of arms! This is clearly the situation now:

The Throckmorton monument in St Katherine Cree church in Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, but the alabaster carving is missing (photo courtesy of Phil Manning)
Patrick contacted the supervisor of St Katharine Cree church in London who confirmed that the Throckmorton coat of arms had disappeared from the monument some time after 1929, possibly during the Second World War to protect it from bomb damage, or shortly afterwards. He said that the piece of artwork could never legally have left the church because there was never a transfer deed. The most logical reason therefore was that it was looted art!
Home at last!
Patrick contacted a specialist at Christie’s London, who was impressed with Patrick’s research work and agreed that the coat of arms in Namur was the missing piece from the Throckmorton monument.
A legal process was then put into action involving the art buyer in Brussels and a lawyer from Art Recovery International, which specializes in the recovery of stolen, missing and disputed cultural property. Despite facing a financial loss, the art dealer agreed to return the piece to St Katharine Cree church.
The story was picked up by British newspaper The Guardian, although for some strange reason, Patrick’s detective work was relegated almost to the end of the article.
Well done Patrick!
I hope that this blog post rightly puts the focus back on Patrick.
Without his initial discovery, his inquisitive mind, his painstaking research and his enthusiasm for the subject, this magnificent carving might never have been restored to its rightful position.

Patrick with a coat of arms that he has carved himself
Thank Denzil, love your blog entry. All the effort you have made and that the reader will find the subject interesting. Thanks again. P 🙂
It’s a pleasure, Hercule. I am looking forward to hearing about the next mystery you are going to solve!
Well done Patrick/Hercule. It must have been so satisfying to track down the solution to this mystery.
What a fascinating story! And, credit where credit is due. Who needs fiction, when there is intriguing non-fiction everywhere. 🙂
Absolutely Leen. And Poirot is also a real character too. (He is, isn’t he?)
Fascinating story of discovery, research and recovery!
It is isn’t it Eliza. Something Hercule would have been proud to solve, I am sure.
great story and post. Patrick – congratulations on your excellent sleuthing. In the coat of arms you carved in the picture above – can you tell us a little bit about it? Why Thistles? Thank you both for an excellent story.
Thanks for your comment and question Amy. If Patrick doesn’t get back to your question here, I will find the answer and let you know. Thanks for your interest.
Dear, this coat of arms was made for a US client. His name is cardone, the plant with the two flowers is a cardone-cardoon plant. If you want to know more about this coat of arms, here is a blogentry about the history of this coat of arms: But at this moment just in Dutch, need to find someone to translate it in to english. http://ornamentsnijder.blogspot.be/2016/01/een-familiewapen-met-schildhouders-in.html
The plant actually represents my client and his brother. The wave under the menora (Jewish background) that means the wave of imigration, to the US.
nice piece of work indeed
Thank you Dymoon
Nice and interesting post 🙂 ! Bye. Kamila
Glad you liked it Kamila. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day.
That was very interesting too read, I have learnt a lot of things I didn’t know !!
Glad to be of service …! Now you can impress your friends with the story of the missing coat of arms! 😉
What an interesting piece of detective work. I feel a little sorry for the art dealer but it was nice to hear he was happy to return the coat of arms to its original home.
Yes, and I know this was an expensive piece of artwork.
I have to admit, you had me at Poirot–but Patrick stole the show 🙂 Uber impressive…thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for your positive response. Yes, Patrick is the star. Arise Sir Patrick! Give that man a Coat of Arms!
That is an inspiring account of what can be achieved when someone has the passion, interest and persistence to resolve something. It seems there was a little synchronicity in the mix too, so the outcome was meant to be. It’s a shame the Guardian article altered the slant of the story, doubtless the reporter was angling it for his own purposes. Let’s hope the piece remains safely in its rightful place for posterity,
Absolutely right Theresa. I am hoping to add a postscript covering a possible ceremony to mark the return of the missing piece. So watch this space!
This is so cool!
Yes, he certainly knew what he was looking for.
This is brilliant! What fantastic work by Patrick, and to you too Denzil for writing it all up so wonderfully.
Thanks Em. Coats of arms all look pretty much the same to me, but Patrick clearly knows what’s what!
Interesting story! Thanks for sharing it with all of us! “_
And thanks for all the retweets and likes Lisa, of this and other posts. Much appreciated.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Wow! There is so much history in this post! Great work to both of you in investigating the truth on Sir Nicholas’ Coat of Arms.
Glad you liked it Lilian. Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for your invitation to join your Share your Blog on Pinterest and for following me. I’m a Pinterest newbie so any help is greatly appreciated.
Excellent job at solving the mystery, Patrick! And awesome job telling the story, Denzil – I especially appreciate the nod to Poirot, because you’ve reminded me it’s been far too long since I’ve read any Christie stories. Lovely post!
Thanks Traci. Seems the great Belgian detective is still alive and kicking!
Thank you Denzil for the really nice article and the nice compliments from the blog readers. 🙂
You are a real hero in the eyes of my readers Patrick!