This carving shows a heraldic sign, the Falcon and Fetterlock. A Fetterlock is a sort of shackle which is a common emblem in heraldry, often displayed in a way resembling a padlock. The Falcon and Fetterlock was originally the badge of the first Duke of York, Edmund Langley, who used a closed golden fetterlock. This was amended by his grandson Richard, 3rd Duke of York (the Grand Old Duke of York), who displayed the fetterlock open. The fetterlocks displayed on this misericord and on the roof bosses above are all shown closed, but they are thought to represent the badges of Richard of York, the Lord of Ludlow, which he had inherited through his wife's Mortimer ancestry.
The Falcon Argent is one of the ‘Queen's Beasts’ and was the badge of Edward III, associated with the Plantagenet dynasty. Richard of York (1411–1460) used it as his own beast to demonstrate his Plantagenet ancestry and hence his claim to the throne via Lionel of Clarence. His son, later King Edward IV, also used the Falcon and Fetterlock, but introduced a new White Rose and Fetterlock symbol as well — also depicted on the roof bosses above.