Wood Carvings in English Churches: I. Stalls and Tabernacle Work. II. Bishop's Thrones and Chancel Chairs.Bond, Francis
History
Wood Carvings in English Churches: I. Stalls and Tabernacle Work. II. Bishop's Thrones and Chancel Chairs.
Bond, Francis
Choir stalls; Church decoration and ornament; Wood-carving
Thus far the stallwork has been wholly of Gothic design, or nearly so. We
now come to the great change of style, the reversion to the Classic art of
ancient Rome, which goes by the name of the Renaissance. Of this the chief
representatives left to us are the stalls of Christchurch, Hants; King's
College, Cambridge; and Cartmel, Lancashire. The stalls and misericords of
Christchurch, as we see them now, are a patchwork of portions of work of
several periods framed together at some more or less recent epoch; there
are at least two styles of Renaissance work, and three or more of Gothic.
The earlier Renaissance work, which is seen in most of the misericords and
on the stall backs is that of William Eyre who was Prior from 1502 to 1520
(2). There are fifty-eight stalls; of the misericords twenty-six have been
stolen or destroyed. The early date of this work makes it of exceptional
importance in the history of the introduction of Renaissance art into
England. One special feature of the work is the portrait panels. These also
occur in a cupboard preserved in Louth church, Lincolnshire, where the
panels have what look very much like portraits of Henry VII. and his queen,
Elizabeth of York. It goes by the name of the "Sudbury hutch" and was the
gift of Thomas Sudbury, who was vicar from 1461 to 1504: it is therefore of
the time of Henry VII. These "portrait cabinets" had a great vogue in the
reign of Henry VIII., and throughout the sixteenth century. Then come three
important tombs by Torrigiano, executed between 1509 and 1518, that of
Henry VII. and his Queen and that of Margaret Beaufort at Westminster and
that of Dr Young in the Rolls chapel. Almost as early, if not quite so, is
Prior Eyre's work at Christchurch. Then comes Cardinal Wolsey's work at
Hampton Court, 1515 to 1525; the beautiful Marney tomb at Layer Marney,
Essex, 1523; the mortuary chests in the cathedral, and the screen work both
in the cathedral and in St Cross, Winchester, _c._ 1525; the chantry chapel
of Prior Draper at Christchurch, 1529, and that of Lady Salisbury, which
may be a year or two earlier; and the screen at Swine church, Yorkshire,
dated 1531. Then follow Henry VIII.'s hall at Hampton Court, 1534; and the
screen at King's College, Cambridge, 1533.
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[Illustration: Christchurch]
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[Illustration: Christchurch]
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