When a church has
fallen into the hands of such renovators and been heavily "restored,"
if the ghost of one of its medieval builders came to view his work he
would scarcely recognize it. Well says Mr. Thomas Hardy: "To restore
the great carcases of mediaevalism in the remote nooks of western
England seems a not less incongruous act than to set about renovating
the adjoining crags themselves," and well might he sigh over the
destruction of the grand old tower of Endelstow Church and the
erection of what the vicar called "a splendid tower, designed by a
first-rate London man--in the newest style of Gothic art and full of
Christian feeling."
[30] A china punch-bowl was actually presented by Sir T. Drake to
be used as a font at Woodbury, Devon.
The novelist's remarks on "restoration" are most valuable:--
"Entire destruction under the saving name has been effected on so
gigantic a scale that the protection of structures, their being
kept wind and weather-proof, counts as nothing in the balance. Its
enormous magnitude is realized by few who have not gone personally
from parish to parish through a considerable district, and
compared existing churches there with records, traditions, and
memories of what they formerly were. The shifting of old windows
and other details irregularly spaced, and spacing them at exact
distances, has been one process.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187