SherborneSherborne
Sherborne
The stalls at Hereford St Peter and Stowlangtoft are illustrated to shew that not only monastic and cathedral churches, but parish churches also possessed abundance of fine stallwork. Stowlangtoft is a remote Suffolk village; but possesses a magnificent set of the original carved benches in the nave and stalls in the chancel (91). The woodwork is probably of thedate of the church, which seems to have been rebuilt late in the fourteenth or early in the following century; the Hereford church is a town church; its stalls appear to be well on in the fifteenth century (89).
In Bristol cathedral the stalls consist of a range of traceried panels surmounted by a horizontal coved cornice. There are now twenty-eight stalls. They bear the arms and initials of Abbot Elyot (1515-1526).
At St David's a totally new departure occurs in stall design; the motif now being clearly taken from an oak screen surmounted by a parapetted loft (109). In the fourteenth century stalls illustrated the ogee arch was the characteristic feature; in the fifteenth century the fashion was to take an elongated ogee arch, and truncate it, employing only the upper portion with the concave curve; these semi-ogees occur everywhere both in stone and wood; they are well seen at St David's in the backing of the stalls. This work has superseded that which was ordered to be put up in 1342 by Bishop Gower, only one fragment of which remains; it was found above the present canopy and consisted of a finialled ogee canopy, agreeing nearly in detail and character with those portions of the Bishop's throne which are of Gower's time.[23]The present stalls, misericords, stall backs and canopy are all fifteenth century work; on the dean's stall (in this cathedral, as nowadays at Southwell, the bishop was also dean) are the arms of Bishop Tully (1460-1481), and on the Treasurer's stall is the name ofPOLE, who was treasurer in the bishop's latter days. The parapets above cannot have been added till the sixteenth century; for they terminate to the east in scrolls of the form common in cinquecento work.
CHAPTER IV
TABERNACLED STALLS
In the latter years of the fourteenth century we come to a new form of stall design; one in which the English carvers won their greatest triumphs, and which became the standard and typical design for English stalls. It is seen in the magnificent tabernacled stalls of Lincoln, Chester, Nantwich, Carlisle, Windsor, St Asaph, Ripon, Manchester, Westminster, Beverley and Durham. To distinguish this group, we may term it "stallwork with tabernacled canopies," or, more shortly, "tabernacled stalls." Though new, it is, like all design, based on earlier models. At Ely (37) two distinct and conflicting designs are combined; to those two the Lincoln carvers gave unity (17). The stallwork at Ely is in two stories; but they are not correlated in any way. The upper story consists of canopied niches, now containing figures, formerly probably occupied by paintings. At Lincoln the lower story was omitted, reducing the elevation to a single story; while the niches of the Ely upper story were brought low down, and made to enshrine the vested canons below. The Lincoln niches, however, are of more elaboration than those of Ely; in the latter each niche was fronted by three straight-sided pediments; in the former the pediments are hollow-sided, and in front of each is a bowing ogee arch. Then these niches are repeated above, except that each niche is single instead of being triple, and enshrines a statuette of wood, and is flanked by window tracery. Moreover, above each upper niche, as at Ely, rises a lofty spirelet with crockets and finials, encircled by a coronal of ogee gables and flanked by tall slender pinnacles, themselves also ornamented with miniature niches, crockets and finials. Also the upper portions of the shafts below are niched, crocketed and battlemented. Thus the Ely design becomes thoroughly harmonious and at one with itself.
LincolnLincoln
Lincoln
ChesterChester
Chester
As a rule, design did not originate with the wood carver; it first found expression in stone. And it well may be that to earlier work executed in stone rather than to the stallwork of Ely the Lincoln design is to be attributed. At any rate, the tabernacled canopies of wood are anticipated in most marked fashion in the monument of Archbishop Stratford in Canterbury cathedral. He died in 1348; his monument is therefore earlier than any of the tabernacled canopies in wood. It consists of two stories, with three gables below and a single niche above; then come spirelets with pinnacles between.[24]There is a similar monument to Archbishop Kemp, who died in 1454. Of the Lincoln work Mr A. W. Pugin said that "the stalls are executed in the most perfect manner, not only as regards variety and beauty of ornamental design, but in accuracy of workmanship, which is frequently deficient in ancient examples of woodwork.... They are certainly superior to any other choir fittings of that period remaining in England. The misericords also are all varied in design, and consist of foliage, animals, figures and even historical subjects, beautifully designed, and executed with surpassing skill and freedom." As the work was begun by the treasurer, John of Welbourn, who died in 1380, we may give it the approximate date of 1370. This is borne out by the factthat on the base of the Dean's stall are the bearings of Dean Stretchley, who died in 1376.[25]
Judging from the armour represented on the misericords the design of the Lincoln stalls was copied very soon afterwards, sayc.1390, in Chester cathedral, but with a magnificence of foliated ornament which is reminiscent of the glorious stalls of Lancaster. For the main lines of the design, however, the new type of canopy which had been worked out at Lincoln was taken as a model; the details only are those of Lancaster, the general design is from Lincoln. As at Lincoln, the lower canopy has duplicated gables in front of each of the three faces of the main structure of the canopy. This main structure starts from between pinnacled buttresses, as it were, separating each canopy; then is brought forward like an oriel window, having square-headed traceried windows, the whole surmounted by a battlemented pierced parapet. In front of each face of the oriel is first a truncated ogee arch, and second, a complete ogee arch, both springing from a battlemented and pinnacled corner buttress. These buttresses, whether between the canopies or in front of the corners of the oriels, are truncated, the former rising not from the shoulders of the stalls below but from angels, the latter from carved bosses or paterae. The gables at the back spring from a higher level than those in front, and, as at Lincoln, are truncated ogee arches. The three front gables are complete ogee arches, which differ from those in the Lincoln stallwork in that their lower convex curve spreads outward again. This is an important matter; for though this compound ogee arch is not employed in the Lincoln stalls, yet it occurs up and down the cathedral in the stonework of the fourteenth century;e.g., in the arcading under the western towers[26]put up by the same treasurer who paid for the stalls. It is so special and characteristic to Lincoln that its presence at Chester may be taken as a decisive proof of Lincoln influence in the design of the stalls. In the upper story is a central niche, flanked by window tracery, as at Lincoln. Above rises a lofty spirelet, encircled at its base by "Lincoln ogee" gables. Between the spirelets, as at Ely and Lincoln, are tall pinnacles. The leafage of the lower canopies should be compared with that of Lancaster. In the five examples illustrated (53,55,56) it will be seen how consummate and versatile in design were these mediæval craftsmen; they were bubbling over with design, and could not repeat themselves if they wished.[27]
ChesterChester
Chester
ChesterChester
Chester
ChesterChester
Chester
ChesterChester
Chester
NantwichNantwich
Nantwich
NantwichNantwich
Nantwich
The magnificent church of Nantwich, Cheshire, was in building before the Black Death of 1349; the work was then stopped; and when it was resumed, it was carried out in a different style. To this later period belong the south transept and the east window of the chancel with rectilinear tracery; it is probable that the pulpit and stalls also belong to this second work,c.1400. The design connects itself with that of the Lincoln and Chester stalls in the absence of any line of demarcation between the upper and lower portions; but while that of Chester is reminiscent of early fourteenth century work, that of Nantwich is well advanced toward normal fifteenth century design. It is also much richer than either, the lower stage being a mass of niches and pinnacles, with angel corbels below. The great novelty at Nantwich is the absence of spirelets, the absence of which is nobly compensated for by the increased height and prominence given to the central of the three upper niches (57).
York MinsterYork Minster
York Minster
The stalls of York Minster were destroyed by fire in 1819. Both in the treatment of the supporting shafts and in the design of the single upper niches flanked by window tracery they closely resembled the Lincoln stalls, on which they were probably modelled; above the upper niches rose spirelets flanked by pinnacles. There is a marked horizontal line midway, dividing the composition into two stories (58). The presbytery of York Minster was built between 1361 and 1370; the choir between 1380 and 1400; we may therefore take 1390 as the approximate date of the stalls. They are a little later than the Lincoln stalls, and probably contemporaneous with those of Chester. A general view of the stalls appears in Drake'sEboracum, page 522 (18).
CarlisleCarlisle
Carlisle
At Carlisle the stalls were erected by Bishop Strickland (1399-1413); Prior Haithwaite is said to have added the tabernacle work after the year 1433:[28]it would therefore be about forty years later than that at Chester (21). The lower canopy, as before, has triple gables, which are truncated ogees, but the additional front gable of Lincoln and Chester is omitted, while the pinnacled buttresses separating the canopies are carried by shafts standing on the shoulders of the stalls. The line of demarcation between the two stories, which the Lincoln and Nantwich designs had minimised, is now emphasised by making the band of quatrefoils continuous. The upper story, which in the earlier designs had had insufficient dominance, is now heightened and enlarged; it consists of three pedestalled niches instead of one; and the flanking window tracery of Lincoln and Chester, with its makeshift look, is reduced in importance, forming merely the backing of the three upper niches. The spirelet above is also greatly enriched, and additional pinnacles are introduced. A little prim the design may be in comparison with the exuberance of Lincoln, Chester and Nantwich, but the proportions are fine, and were the statuettes once more in their niches, it would be a very satisfactory composition. Such work as this has well been resembled to "a whole wood, or say a thicket of old hawthorn with its topmost branches spared, slowly growing into stalls."
RiponRipon
Ripon
At St Asaph's cathedral the stalls and part of the canopies are ancient.[29]The cathedral was gutted by fire in 1402, and the stalls were not re-erected till 1471-1495.
Fifty years later than the Carlisle stalls were put up those of Ripon Minster (60). As two of the misericords are inscribed 1489 and 1494, they cannot be earlier than the latter year. Just as the Chester stalls were a criticism of those of Lincoln, and the Lincoln stalls of those of Ely, so the stalls of Ripon are a criticism of those of Nantwich and Carlisle. In the latter the upper story had been emphasised; at Ripon the bottom story is given the dominance; compared with the simplicity of the Carlisle design, the lower stage at Ripon, as at Nantwich, is surpassingly rich; gables and pinnacles and window tracery are loaded with beautiful detail, cusped arches are added below; finally figure sculpture is called in, and capitals and corbels are beset with tiny angels. In the string-course between the two stories quatrefoils are abandoned; it is molded, foliated and battlemented. In the upper story reappears the forest of pinnacles of Carlisle and the window tracery of Lincoln. Here, as elsewhere, the design suffers grievously from the loss of the statuettes which once ranged continuously in the upper story.
ManchesterManchester
Manchester
Beverley MinsterBeverley Minster
Beverley Minster
Some twenty years later, stallwork was put up in the collegiate church of Manchester. On the north side of the choir is a curious shield with the initials of Richard Beck, a Manchester merchant, by whom all the stalls on that side were erected: the southern stalls were erected by Bishop Stanley, and at the west end of them is the shield of Stanley with the Stanley legend of the eagle and child. At Manchester craftsman ambition had to surpass Ripon and Nantwich. But the lower stages of Nantwich and Ripon were unsurpassable; so they were copied, angelettes included. The string-course is strengthened and improved by additional battlements; but undue emphasis is prevented by making it discontinuous. In the upper story, by way of change, there is a reversion to the single niche, flanked by window tracery, of Lincoln and Chester; finally, originality is asserted by surmounting the whole, in somewhat doubtful propriety, with a continuous tester, so that the canopies that cover the stalls are themselves covered and protected. This tester has a horizontal cornice with brattishing above and cornice braces between pendant pieces below. To make room for this the spirelets so much in vogue are replaced, as at Nantwich, by canopies with horizontal cresting—taking it altogether, a magnificent design, if only the Ripon stalls had not existed (62).
Beverley MinsterBeverley Minster
Beverley Minster
Beverley MinsterBeverley Minster
Beverley Minster
Beverley MinsterBeverley Minster
Beverley Minster
Beverley MinsterBeverley Minster
Beverley Minster
Then come the stalls of Beverley Minster, misericords of which are inscribed with the dates 1520 and 1524; the stalls are therefore about a dozen years later than those of Manchester. They are modelled closely on those of Manchester and Ripon. It is quite conceivable that some of the carvers may have worked successively at Ripon (1500), Manchester (1508) and Beverley (1520). As at Ripon, the lower story is made predominant, the little angels being replaced, however, by human busts—no great improvement; not that they are not full of life and interest (27, 63). The string-course is that of Manchester. The upper story has single niches flanked by window tracery, as at Manchester. The horizontal canopy of Manchester now remains over the return stalls only. On the whole it must be admitted that these stalls mark no advance. A bit of original design indeed appears at one point, where low, heavy straight-lined gables are introduced quite out of harmony with the curving ogee arches (64).
DurhamDurham
Durham
Then comes the Dissolution; a long list of Tudor monarchs reign and pass away; Stuarts take their place; Civil War follows; at length at the Restoration of 1660 the Church comes to her own again, and John Cosin ascends the episcopal throne of Durham. True to the Church of England and loyal to Gothic Architecture, he reverts to the consecrated form, and tabernacled stalls are reared once more—one of his many contributions to the cathedral and diocese of Durham (22). Nor is the design an unworthy one; nay, rather it is a distinct improvement on that of Carlisle, Ripon, Manchester and Beverley; for by abolishing the string-course, he reduces the design to the unity with which it started at Lincoln. Moreover, tall pinnacles had flanked the spirelets of Ely, Lincoln, Chester, Carlisle, Ripon and Beverley, so that really one could not see the wood for the trees; these pinnacles are now omitted, and the spirelets get their full value. Altogether a very fine design; and the little bits of Renaissance detail which here and there creep in, as in the bishop'smagnificent font cover,[30]only add to its charm (66). Other examples of John Cosin's time are to be seen at Brancepeth where he was formerly rector from 1626 to 1633; the stalls, screens and pulpit of that church are simply delightful (93). More of this work is to be seen in the chapel of the Bishop's palace at Bishop's Auckland; in the church of his son-in-law at Sedgefield and at Sherburn hospital. So Gothic in spirit is this work that it has been again and again ascribed to Elizabethan times,e.g., by Billings in hisCounty of Durham. In spite of the coarseness of some of the detail and that here and there a bit of Classical detail creeps in, it is most interesting and enjoyable; would that we had more of these delightful admixtures of Classic and Gothic forms; plentiful in Spain and France, they are rare with us.
DunblaneDunblane
Dunblane
The stalls in Dunblane cathedral are thought by Messrs Macgibbon and Ross[31]to have been put up in the time of Bishop James Chisholm (1486-1534). In that case they would bec.1520. "The work is rather rough in execution, not to becompared with the more characteristic woodwork of King's College, Aberdeen"; nevertheless it is very picturesque and interesting. The introduction of the centaurs indicates Renaissance influence; the foliage carving is a rather curious mixture of late Gothic and Classic forms, such as we find elsewhere in Scottish carved work of this period. The Scottish thistle is one of the chief motifs (67).
In the chapel of King's College, Aberdeen, is a considerable amount of fine oak carved work, by far the most extensive and best of its kind in Scotland. The chapel itself, in some of its features, bears the character of the parish church at Stirling and other Scottish works of the beginning of the sixteenth century. The carved stalls, monuments, and decorative work of the interior are of the same period, but may possibly have been brought from a distance, or executed by foreign workmen engaged (like the English plumber) by the bishop. The panels are all of different design, and shew a great deal of variety combined with a sufficiently uniform effect when the work is viewed as a whole. In some of them the details are based on floral forms—thistle, vine, oak, &c.—while the conventional French fleur-de-lis is also introduced.[32]
At this point arises the question how far our stallwork was influenced by foreign design. It may be stated at once with confidence that of the great majority of the stalls the design is as thoroughly English as the oak of which they are built. We have seen that the flowing and ogee forms of the Ely tracery were designed not later than 1338, which is at least sixty years earlier than any work of the sort in France. We were able to see how by gradual modifications of the Ely design the craftsmen were able to advance slowly but assuredly to the stallwork of Lincoln, Chester, Nantwich, Carlisle, Ripon, Manchester, Beverley, Durham; the glorious chain of artistic success is complete; every link is there. But there are facts on the other side which, at any rate at Melrose, are beyond dispute or controversy. In 1846 a document was communicated to the Society of Antiquaries, London, from West Flanders, relating to a dispute at Bruges between William Carebis, a Scotch merchant, and John Crawfort, a monk of Melrose, on the one hand, and Cornelius de Aeltre, citizen and master of the art of carpentry of Bruges, on the other hand. The latter had contracted to supply certain stalls and to erect them in the abbey church of Melrose, after the fashion of the stalls of the choir of the abbey church of Dunis in Flanders, with carving similar to that existing in the church of Thosan near Bruges. The stipulated price had been paid, and the master carpenter was called to account for delaying to complete the work; whereupon he pleaded various excuses, stating that the work had been impeded by popular commotions at Bruges, during which he had been deserted by his workmen and had suffered heavy losses. It was decided that Melrose abbey should bear the cost of its transport to the town of Sluys and embarkation there for Scotland, and should make some allowance to Cornelius towards his journey to Melrose; and that they should give him and his chief carver (formiscissori) a safe-conduct for their journey and return. This document was dated 7th October, 1441.[33]
WindsorWindsor
Windsor
No such wholesale example of foreign design occurs in England; nevertheless there are two important instances in which Flemish design is to be suspected; viz., in the Royal chapels at Windsor and Westminster. As regards the stalls in St George's chapel, Windsor, it is known that the tabernacled canopies were begun in 1477 and were completed in 1483; thus they took six years to make (69).[34]The canopies are known to have been made in London; the carvers being Robert Ellis and John Filles, apparently Englishmen. On the other hand the great Rood, with the statues of St George and St Edward and others, was made by Diricke Vangrove and Giles Vancastell, who are just as evidently Dutchmen; for four images the two Dutchmen were paid at the rate of 5s. per foot; for six canopies the two Englishmen received £40, say £480;i.e., about £80 of our money for each canopy. Now here we have Dutch and English carvers engaged together on what was practically one work: moreover the more artistic and difficult part of the work, the figure sculpture, is entrusted to the Dutchmen. It is to the latter probably that the general lines of the design are due. The detail is sufficiently English; not so the general design. For the Windsor stallwork is intermediate between that of Chester (c.1390) and Carlisle (1433) on the one hand, and Ripon (c.1490) and Manchester (1508) on the other. But it is not a development arising out of either of the earlier designs, nor was the stallwork of Ripon and Manchester in any way a development from that of Windsor.
WindsorWindsor
Windsor
All the larger stallwork of the fifteenth century was, as we have seen, designed in two stories, rising into spirelets and pinnacles; at Windsor the double story, the spirelet and the pinnacle are all alike lacking. It is true that the original canopies were designed quite as much for the Knights of the Garter as for the Windsor Canons, and in the case of the former the design had to be accommodated to provide supports for the knights' helmets, mantles and swords; nevertheless this might have been accomplished without utterly breaking away from current design. The Windsor design, so far as English work goes, has no ancestry; its origin no doubt is to be found in the Netherlands. The Windsor stalls have been much tampered with. As Hollar's engraving in Ashmole'sInstitution of the Order of the Garter(1672) shews, over the westernmost bay on either side of the choir the canopies contained imagery and had a horizontal cresting; and all the other canopies consisted alternately of towers and spirelets; the knights being seated under the towers and the canons under the spirelets; but since the enlargement of the Order in 1786 all the spirelets have been converted into towers (71). All these towers are surmounted by wooden busts, of which the earliest go back to the time of Edward IV.; on the bust were placed the knight's helmet, crest and mantlings, which hid the busts from view; lower down, in front, hung his sword; banners were not added till a later period. At first the real sword and helm were put up; later, they were theatrical properties.
Bishop Langton's ChapelBishop Langton's Chapel
Bishop Langton's Chapel
In Winchester cathedral is stallwork of rare beauty in the Lady Chapel, which was built in the time of Bishop Courtenay, 1486-1492. In some of its details it resembles the Windsor stalls, which were completed in 1483; it is therefore feasible that some of the Windsor carvers went on to Winchester (73). South of the Lady Chapel is the chantry chapel of Bishop Langton, 1493-1500, where also the screen and coved panelling are of great excellence (72); there are no stalls.
Winchester CathedralWinchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Henry the Seventh's chapel at Westminster was built partly as a Lady Chapel, partly to be the mausoleum of Henry VII. and his Queen, and of Henry VI.[35]Here the canopies with tower-like form and single story and with the absence of pinnacle are plainly reminiscent of those of Windsor, and as plainly distinct from current English design, as seen at Manchester in 1508 and Beverley Minster in 1520; the Westminster and Manchester canopies were being made together; but those of Westminster have no connection with the grand Northern series of consecutive designs (131). Besides Windsor influence there may be direct influence from the Netherlands; for some of the misericords are evidently from the design of a painter or engraver, the subjects being too crowded to be properly carved in wood in so limited a space. Mr J. Langton Barnard says,[36]"While looking over some engravings on copper of Albert Durer, I came across one which strikingly resembled the third misericord in the upper row on the north side; the resemblance was extremely close, especially in the arrangement and folds of the woman's dress; this is stated by Bartsch in hisCatalogue(vii. 103 and 93) to be one of his earliest plates. Another plate of Albert Durer closely resembles the corresponding misericord in the lower row on the south side, as regards the position of the limbs and the folds of the drapery; while the seventh misericord of the lower row on the south side almost exactly resembles a plate by Israel van Meckenern, of two monkeys and three young ones." These stalls formerly occupied only the three western bays of the chapel; another bay was filled with stalls when the Order of the Bath was revived by King George the First; the canopy-fronts for an additional bay on each side being got by sawing off canopy-backs and putting them up as fronts. The tabernacle work is of the richest and most diversified character, varying in every canopy (73).
CHAPTER V
RENAISSANCE STALLWORK
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.
ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch
ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch
So that the Christchurch work stands very high on the list and deserves much more attention than it has received. The general outline of the stalls themselves is Gothic, the chief divergency being in the supports of the elbow rests and seats. Among the shafts are examples of the honeycomb form which is almost the only bit of Renaissance detail in the canopies of the Westminster stalls. At the back of the stalls are very vigorous carvings of classical dragons, serpents, hounds and human faces (76). To these last fanciful attributions have been made;e.g., one has been imagined to represent Catharine of Arragon between Cardinal Wolsey and Cardinal Campeggio (77). These portrait busts have a wide distribution; they occur in wood, stone and terra cotta. Noble examples are those in terra cotta at Hampton Court, which were undoubtedly imported by Cardinal Wolsey direct from Italy.[37]Others no doubt are the work of Italians resident in England in the first half of the sixteenth century, when Italian art and Italian literature were equally the fashion with the cognoscenti led by Henry VIII. and Wolsey;e.g., the fine bust of Sir Thomas Lovell by Torrigiano, now in Westminster Abbey.[38]These portrait busts have a wide range—from Essex westward to Somerset, Devon and Cornwall;e.g., North Cadbury, Somerset; Lapford, Devon, and Talland, Cornwall; several also occur at Hemingborough, Yorkshire. The probability is that the Italian artists entered the kingdom at Southampton; and that a few found work at Christchurch and in the south-west, but that the main body proceeded eastward to Winchester, Basing, London and Layer Marney; they have left one memorial at Oxford beneath a window at Christ Church.[39]
King's College, CambridgeKing's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
Next come the famous screen and stalls of King's College, Cambridge—"the finest woodwork this side of the Alps." Harmonious as is the general effect of the stallwork, it was executed at three different periods. The stalls were ordered to be made by Henry VI. in his will, but were not put up till much later. About 1515 an estimate was obtained for 130 stalls, which it was found would cost about £12,000 of our money,i.e., about £92 each. On the screen, which is part of the same work, are the arms, badge and initials of Anne Boleyn, who was at the height of her influence between 1531 and 1535; the stallwork may be ascribed to the same period, but as yet the stalls had plain backs. In 1633 Mr Thomas Weaver presented the large coats of arms which are seen on the backs of the stalls (78). The cresting was made between 1675 and 1678 by Thomas Austin, following more or less the style of the work below.[40]The screen is more completely Italian in treatment than any other work of the time, all the moldings being Classic; it is practically certain that the general design and most of the work must have been done by Italians. The design of screen and stalls alike is to be regarded as an isolated example, complete in itself. It did not grow out of anything that went before it in England, nor did it develop into anything else in England afterwards.[41]
More Classical still in design—an entablature with architrave, frieze and cornice superseding the semicircular arches of the Cambridge stalls—is the superb woodwork at Cartmel, Lancashire. From the Dissolution up to 1620, the choir of Cartmel priory church was roofless; the canopies of the stalls must have perished; the stalls themselves remain, bearing the mark of long exposure to the weather. In 1620 it is recorded[42]that George Preston of Holker, who died in 1640, not only reroofed the chancel, "but decorated the quire and chancel with a profusion of curiously and elaborately carved woodwork" (80).