Just down the road from Riverlights, also backing onto the River Gardens, is the relatively new building of Derby Combined Court. Opened in 1989, it houses the Crown Court for trying criminal cases and the County Court for legal judgements on other issues such as adoption, bankruptcy and civil matters.
Just inside the main entrance doors are security gateways which perform the usual screening, and burly security guards doing bag checks.
Immediately above the entrance is the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, under which appear the words Dieu et mon droit, the motto of the British monarch. Literally translated, the motto means God and my right, referring to the divine right of the British monarchy to govern the country.
It is thought that the motto was adopted by King Henry V in the 15th Century and it is in French because that was the language commonly used in the Royal court from the time of William the Conqueror.
The coat of arms is officially known as the Arms of Dominion of the British monarch and is used, with slight variations, wherever her governance is applied. It consists of a quartered shield; two sections of which show the three lions of England, while a third shows the rampant lion of Scotland and the fourth, the harp of Northern Ireland. The two supporters are a crowned English lion and a Scottish unicorn. As the wild unicorn was deemed a dangerous beast, it is chained.
No slur against modern inhabitants of Scotland is intended or should be inferred :)
I wonder what those burly security guards made of you taking these detailed photographs right outside their 'jurisdiction'?
ReplyDeleteYes, I am surprised you weren't stopped from photographing what is probably considered an important public building and prime candidate for terrorists attacks. The fact that you could obtain a similar - but far less artistic - view of the same building on Google Street Cam never seems to have occurred to security guards.
ReplyDeleteThis is the sort of modern building that I like. Of course, the coat of arms is very familiar to me, as it is found in some form, all across Canada.
ReplyDeleteThat coat of arms is so majestic. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI am used to cleverness but you are REALLY clever knowing all that. I miss the colours on the coat of arms. What is it made of?
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of the coat of arms! This building is far more appealing to me that the pointy one in your previous post:)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Love that you shard this!
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