Derbyshire (England) -- Antiquities; Derbyshire (England) -- History
Sandiacre.—“Up to 1855” (the quotation is from Cox’s _Churches of
Derbyshire_), “there were some parts of the old rood-screen still
remaining across the chancel arch of Decorated date. Some of this
tracery has been used up in the reading-desk, and the pulpit has been
made to correspond.” The length of the vanished rood-loft cannot have
exceeded the width of the nave, namely, 22 ft. 9 in.
Sawley.—The oak rood-screen extends from side to side of the chancel,
18 ft. 5 in. Its height is 9 ft. 7 in. The heavy lintel is embattled
and moulded. The doorway is a plain, rectagonal opening of 3 ft. 5½
in. wide, and without gates. On either side of it are five rectagonal
compartments or lights, separated by muntins, and opening 51½
inches high, centred from 1 ft. 3 in. to 1 ft. 5½ in., with early
Perpendicular tracery in the heads to the depth of 11 inches, smooth
on the eastward surface. The solid part at the bottom consists of a
deep, moulded rail and, below, rectagonal panelling without tracery.
The westward face of each of the doorway jambs is buttressed, the
buttress having a square base. The joinery as a whole is so very coarse
and rude as to suggest the product of a rural workshop. The eastern
portion of each aisle was formerly screened from the rest of the church
by parcloses, which stood intact until 1838. The base of that section
of the southern parclose which ran from east to west between the aisle
and the nave, was removed on the plea of expediency not long ago by the
present rector, who broke it up and caused the soundest parts of it
to be turned into music desks for the choir boys in the chancel. The
only portions, therefore, that now remain are the lower halves of the
western section of either parclose running from north to south. That
in the north aisle (which enclosed the chantry of Our Lady) extends
over a length of 16 ft. 1½ in., with an interval of 2 ft. 8½ in. for
the entrance. It consists of five compartments, and stands 4 ft. 3½ in.
high, the buttressed muntins sawn off to the level of the fenestration
cill. Below the rail is a horizontal panel of pierced tracery, 7 inches
deep; and, below, panels with blind tracery in the heads to the depth
of 7½ inches. What is left of the parclose in the south aisle extends
over a length of 12 ft. 11 in., with an interval of 2 ft. 7¼ in. for
the entrance. It consists of eight rectagonal compartments, and stands
4 ft. 3 in. high, the buttressed muntins being likewise cut off to the
level of the cill. Both these parcloses are Perpendicular, and exhibit
a much more refined standard of execution than does the rood-screen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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