The effect was
remarkable. A succeeding rector began at once the work of restoration,
scraping off the paint and substituting oak varnish; but when my
friend took a morning service for him the work had not been completed,
and he preached from a bright green pulpit.
[Illustration: Carving on Rood-screen, Alcester Church, Warwick]
The contents of our parish churches, furniture and plate, are rapidly
vanishing. England has ever been remarkable for the number and beauty
of its rood-screens. At the Reformation the roods were destroyed and
many screens with them, but many of the latter were retained, and
although through neglect or wanton destruction they have ever since
been disappearing, yet hundreds still exist.[31] Their number is,
however, sadly decreased. In Cheshire "restoration" has removed nearly
all examples, except Ashbury, Mobberley, Malpas, and a few others. The
churches of Bunbury and Danbury have lost some good screen-work since
1860. In Derbyshire screens suffered severely in the nineteenth
century, and the records of each county show the disappearance of many
notable examples, though happily Devonshire, Somerset, and several
other shires still possess some beautiful specimens of medieval
woodwork. A large number of Jacobean pulpits with their curious
carvings have vanished.
Pages:
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191