St Mary
Exbourne church is well-endowed with fine modern bench ends. The ones in the nave and north aisle were designed by Herbert Read of Exeter and executed in his workshop 1900-10 (Cherry & Pevsner, 2004). The designs alternate between purely decorative ones and others with commemorative shields. This pattern has been repeated in the bench ends produced slightly later by the Pinwill workshop.
Bench Ends and Desks – Photographs (PWDRO 116/32, 244/4 & 244/5); 1911
This set of benches and desks with carved ends by V. Pinwill was made for the south aisle, restored a little later than the rest of the church. Seven benches and a desk front were provided for the nave, all with carved ends, of which four are not included in the photographs at PWDRO. Four benches and two desks with carved ends were made for east end of the aisle, once the Lady Chapel, but these are now dispersed around the church to make way for less formal activity in that area. According to a newspaper article (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1911) the benches and desks were designed by Edmund H. Sedding, although his partner R.F. Wheatly is given as the architect on one of the PWDRO photographs. The Lord Bishop of Crediton visited in March 1911 to reopen the south aisle and dedicate the new furniture. He also dedicated a brass tablet that states that the bench below it is a memorial to D’Oyley William Oldham, Rector of the Parish for 32 years (died 1909), who was instrumental in the restoration of the church. This bench, with one end depicting St Gregory and the other a bird and vine pattern, now sits to the north of the south aisle altar, and not under the brass tablet. The front panel of the desk accompanying the bench illustrates the parable of the sower and is described in the article as ‘a triumph of delicate engraving’ (Ibid. p. 3). This desk is now at the back of the nave serving as a hymn book repository. Another bench, dedicated to Elizabeth Tattershall (died 1910) and bearing her initials on the carved end, has also been removed to the back of the church, as has a desk featuring a semi-kneeling angel with thurible. A third bench has one end carved with the initials ‘AR’ and now sits, misleadingly, below the brass tablet. The fourth bench has a high back and ends rather like a settle and sits beside the altar on the south side. Plans for the seating exist at DHC (1626B/P/22-23).
Sources
Cherry, B. & Pevsner, N. (2004) The Buildings of England. Devon. Yale University Press, London.
Devon & Exeter Gazette (1911) Church Restoration at Exbourne. Memorial to the Late Rector. 3 March p. 3.
DHC 1626B/P/22-23.Plans. Exbourne. South Aisle, Elevation and Roof.
PWDRO 116/32 Photograph. Exbourne. Bench Ends.
PWDRO 244/4 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.
PWDRO 244/5 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.