English: The Dudley Carving in the Beauchamp Tower, Tower of London (1553/4). See better image[1]. Stone carving within the Beauchamp Tower in the Tower of London showing heraldic devices of the Earls of Warwick. (Source: Claire Ridgway, Gillyflowers for Lord Guildford Dudley, The Tudor Society, 2016 [2])

Supposed to have been carved during his imprisonment there by Lord John Dudley, one of the five sons of w:John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504-1553), as a memorial to himself and his four brothers. The five sons (with their later titles) were:

• John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1527-1554)
• Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick (c. 1530-1590)
• Lord Henry Dudley (1531–1557)
• Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588)
• Lord Guildford Dudley (1535-1554), the husband of Lady Jane Grey, and the fourth surviving son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. In 1553 he was imprisoned in the Tower with his father and brothers.

Claire Ridgway: "On 13th November 1553, Jane, Guildford, Guildford's brothers Ambrose and Henry, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer were tried for treason at a public trial at London's Guildhall. They were all found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane and Guildford were executed on 12th February 1554. Jane was about 16/17 and Guildford about 19 when they died. The others escaped death, although Cranmer was burned at the stake for heresy in March 1556."

The Bear and Ragged Staff is the heraldic badge of the Earls of Warwick and the lion rampant double queued is from the coat of arms of Dudley. The floral border with leaves of oak (Latin: quercus robur) and acorns represents Robert Dudley (robur (meaning "strong" being a pun on Robert); the roses are for Ambrose Dudley (rose being a pun for Ambrose); the honeysuckle (lonicera henryi) for Henry Dudley; the gillyflowers for Guildford Dudley (gilly being a pun on his first name).

Inscription in verse: