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
Stone seats are occasionally found. Where they are placed south of the
altar, they are probably sedilia; but not when they are placed in the
western bay or bays of the chancel or in the nave. At Barnack the remains
of a stone seat were found on the west wall of the Pre-Conquest tower; it
had formerly an oak seat and oak slabs on either side: a stone seat occurs
also in the west wall of the nave of Old Radnor church. A stone seat is not
uncommon in the western bays on the south side of chancels; the object of
this is not clear; perhaps it was to provide a seat for the priest while
reading his office; in later days, as we have seen, oak stalls were common
in parish chancels, and the priest would read his office in one of these.
Several examples occur. There is a rude example in the Pre-Conquest church
of Corhampton, Hampshire. Others, probably {125} of thirteenth century
date, occur at Warlingham, Surrey, and Halsham and Sprotborough, Yorkshire.
At Lenham, Kent, is one with solid stone arms, and with a cinquefoiled
canopy of later date.
[Illustration: Redenhall] [Illustration: Redenhall]
Last, we have the Coronation chair at Westminster,[72] which has a long, if
somewhat unreliable history behind it. The stone beneath it is said to have
been the one on which Jacob's head rested at Bethel; from whence it
travelled to Egypt, and thence to Spain, Ireland and lastly Scotland. King
Kenneth of Scotland had the following inscription engraved on it in Latin
verse:--
"Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum
Invenient lapidem regnare tenentur ibidem";
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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