In 1819, John Howard Galton, son of Samuel Galton Jr. and Lucy Barlcay of Dudson House, Birmingham, was married to Isabella Strutt, daughter of Joseph Strutt, Mayor of Derby and Isabel Douglas. This table was made in honor of the marriage, with both families' crests and coats-of-arms displayed on its top using inlaid marble and hardstone decoration. The large shield shows the Galton coat-of-arms, with a small shield inside it showing the coats-of-arms of the Strutt and Douglas families. Above are the crests of the Galtons and the Strutts. The top's exquisite quality suggests it was made in one of the leading Italian workshops, where English noblemen often commissioned lapidary items. Its base has a pleasing Grecian simplicity, and traces of an unusual dark green coating indicating that it originally resembled bronze. The Galtons' home was Hadzor Hall, former home of Katherine of Aragon. The table remained there until 1929, when John Howard's grandson, the last of the Galton line, died.

This tabletop is inlaid with stone images of Masonic symbols, including in its central section a doorway representing Obedience, a paved floor (Humility), and two columns (Creation and Salvation). The octagonal shape of the tabletop is also symbolic: it is derived from the "square upon square", an important design in Freemasonry. The border of the table is filled with the working tools of a stonemason, which are all given symbolic meaning by Freemasons: the level implies equality; the square represents morality; and the trowel symbolizes unity, "spreading the cement of the Brotherhood" of the society.