The inscription 'honi soit mal qui y pense' (shame upon him who thinks evil of it) within a representation of a garter is the motto of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. The motto 'En Dieu est tout' (In God is all) is the motto of the Wentworth family of Woolley in West Yorkshire. This dish was most probably commissioned by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (2nd creation) (1672-1739), who was created a Knight of the Garter in 1712 and was the great-nephew of the statesman Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1st creation) (1593-1641). Thomas Wentworth was a diplomat and First Lord of the Admiralty (1712-1714). In 1711 he became Earl of Strafford and the Duke of Strafford in 1722. As a soldier in the service of King William III he rose to the rank of colonel of dragoons and then under Queen Anne he became an envoy to Berlin from 1705 to 1711. He then transferred to The Hague, where he served as British Ambassador to the Dutch Republic until 1714. In 1708 he purchased Stainborough Hall in Yorkshire. He renamed it Wentworth Castle and embarked on a program of expansion and improvements which were completed in 1730. This plate may have formed part of a service for use at the castle. For a fuller discussion of Thomas Wentworth's diplomatic career, see Robert D. Aronson and Suzanne M.R. Lambooy, ibid., 2009, pp. 64-65.