St Andrew

Calstock Riddel Post Angel
Riddel Post Angel at Calstock

Riddel Posts with Angels (2) – Photograph (PWDRO 244/5); 1913

An unlabelled photograph at PWDRO showing one of these riddel posts was only identified as such after a visit to the church. This was inspired by a suggestion from the Revd Canon Gordon Ruming that there was Pinwill work there, after a talk to the Plymouth Branch of the Devonshire Association in which the typical semi-kneeling angels produced by the Pinwill workshop were illustrated. The riddel posts are no longer used for their original purpose around the altar and now stand either side of the entrance to the tower. They date from the same period as the altar, which was given to commemorate the life of the Revd Thomas Hullah, Rector for 46 years, who died in 1911, and were installed in 1913 (Warner, 2022). One angel kneels with head upturned holding a thurible, while the other is in prayer with bowed head, bearing a striking resemblance to one carved for a memorial credence for St Germans. They are among the most beautifully carved examples of Pinwill angels, based on a design by Edmund H. Sedding.

Sources

PWDRO 244/5 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.

Warner, M. (2022) A Time to Build: Signposts to the Building, Restoration, Enhancement, and Maintenance of Cornwall’s Anglican Churches and Mission Rooms. Scyfa, Cornwall.