The 16th Century Fresco
Behind panelling on the East walls of the old hall of the building, earlier plaster work was uncovered to reveal a remarkable wall painting dating from the first part of the 16th Century. The "fresco", once again in good state of preservation having been renovated in 1997, (English Heritage-Wall painting Workshop, Faversham) measures eighteen feet by seven feet, and had originally been executed in water colour, or a form of distemper, on a thick skin of lime plaster forming a finishing coat to a backing of wattle and daub construction. Scrolling foliage with conventional flowers on a green ground is enlivened with a veritable menagerie of birds and beasts including an "Elephant and Castle" and the design is interrupted by three diagonal bands, each bearing the motto "Soli deo honor et gloria".
The frieze introduces Tudor roses, the coat of arms of Jane Seymour "1537" surrounded by black, and the Royal Arms of England "King Edward VI" 1547. Pairs of cherubs holding tablets, which are inscribed with the "Magnificat" in Tyndale's English rendering of 1525. Unfortunately the person who executed the painting is unknown, but it dates from about 1544 and was originally completed to form a backcloth to the original dining hall of the Inn, which includes the present restaurant, and the two doors on the west wall of the Inn which led to the kitchens. The painting suffered a certain amount of damage during the Second World War.
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