St Andrew

Rood Screen – Photograph (PWDRO 244/4 & 244/5); 1901, 1910 & 1913

There are only two photograph of the screen in PWDRO and those are of the completed and installed central section, one taken from the south and the other from the north. In December 1901 the Bishop of Truro dedicated the new screen, erected to the memory of Ann Eleanor Shearme who died in 1900 (Western Times, 1901a). The report states that the screen was very much admired and was carved by Rashleigh, Pinwill & Co. to designs by Edmund H. Sedding. The north part of the screen was not erected until 1910 and the south in 1913, at a cost, altogether, of considerably over £700 (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1913). During the afternoon of 31 July 1913 there was a public tea, a string band played and the bells were rung, prior to the dedication of the screen at Evensong by the Vicar, the Revd C. Leslie Jones.

Stratton Rood Screen
Detail of the Rood Screen at Stratton

Statue of St Andrew – Newspaper article (Western Times, 1901b); 1901

A newspaper report in December 1901 stated that a stone statue of St Andrew had been placed in a niche in the tower over the western doorway, with a richly carved canopy in Polyphant. It was the work of Rashleigh, Pinwill & Co. of Plymouth and the funds had been raised by Miss Rowe. It was surmised that the niche probably indicated that a statue had been there previously, probably removed in Cromwell’s time. This is the only evidence for this piece.

Rood Base – Photograph (PWDRO 244/4); 1907-08

The photograph of this piece in PWDRO 244/4 is not annotated and is in poor condition. It is fortunate that a newspaper report provided more information. It states that in January 1908 the rood screen was graced with a rood set on a base of three pillars with richly carved capitals (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1908). The pillars are interlaced with a scroll, on which is written in Latin ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ etc. The figures of the crucified Christ, St Mary and St John were made in Oberammergau but the base was the work of Rashleigh Pinwill & Co., from designs by Edmund H. Sedding. The rood and the font cover below were reported as being anonymous gifts.

Stratton Font Cover
Font Cover at Stratton

Font Cover – Photograph (PWDRO 244/4); 1907-08

The font cover was dedicated at the same service in January 1908 as the rood base (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1908). It was reported to be Jacobean in style to match the pulpit and was the work of Rashleigh Pinwill & Co. to the designs of Edmund H. Sedding.

War Memorial Belfry Screen – Newspaper article (Western Morning News, 1921a) E.H. Sedding architect; 1919

In a newspaper obituary for Edmund H. Sedding it states that he designed a WWI memorial for Stratton church. Part of this memorial took the form of a belfry screen that bears all the hallmarks of a Sedding/Pinwill collaboration. It was dedicated by the Vicar, the Revd C. Leslie Jones, in September 1919 (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1919).

Lychgate Lintel Inscription – Hedges (2005); 1932

In a report of a public meeting organised to discuss a fitting memorial for Canon C. Leslie Jones, it was stated that R.F. Wheatly, architect, V. Pinwill, wood carver, and Mr Parkhouse, builder, ‘had kindly offered to give their services in designing, carving, and erecting respectively a lych-gate’ (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1932a p. 15). The offer was accepted and a lychgate installed and dedicated in December 1932. It was constructed with pillars of Cornish stone supporting a roof of Delabole slates (Devon & Exeter Gazette, 1932a, 1932b). The timber used was oak from HMS Defiance, the last wooden battleship to fly the White Ensign. The Pinwill contribution was the lintel inscription by woodcarver Ron Dustan, who was sent down to do the work (Hedges, 2005).

Sanctuary Panelling – Photograph (PWDRO 116/105); 1932

The photograph in PWDRO shows part of the panelling that lines the walls of the sanctuary. Interestingly, the small carved panels bear several different designs employing the ‘dolphin’ motif, used extensively on Renaissance bench ends in Cornwall (pers. obs. & Todd Gray, historian and author, pers. comm.).

St Andrew’s Chapel Panelling, including Wall Panel Memorials – Plan (CRO AD889/34) 1932

Plans exist only for the carved panel bearing a memorial to Canon C. Leslie Jones, which seems to have originally been planned for the sanctuary but now resides in the chapel. The panelling is remararkably similar to that in the sanctuary, with dolphin motifs and linenfolds, and there is no reason not to assume it was part of the same work. There is also a carved panel memorial to George Heston Stainton, organist for 47 years from 1863 to 1930.

Sources

CRO AD889/34 Plans. Stratton. Memorial Lych Gate and Panel.

Devon & Exeter Gazette (1908) Dedication at Stratton. 21 January p. 6.

Devon & Exeter Gazette (1913) District News. Stratton. 1 August p. 11.

Devon & Exeter Gazette (1919) Stratton. War Memorial. A Belfry Screen. 23 September p. 4.

Devon & Exeter Gazette (1932a) District News. Stratton. 15 April p. 15.

Devon & Exeter Gazette (1932b) In Loving Memory. Stratton Tribute to Late Beloved Vicar. 23 December p. 13.

Hedges, M. (2005) Ron Dustan, Woodcarver in West Country Churches. Dartmoor Society Newsletter 22, 14-19.

PWDRO 116/105 Photograph. Stratton. Chancel Panelling.

PWDRO 244/4 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.

PWDRO 244/5 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.

Western Morning News (1921) Mr. Edmund Sedding. Plymouth Architect’s Death in London. Work for Churches. 23 February p. 8.

Western Times (1901a) News of the West. Stratton. 20 December p. 6.

Western Times (1901b) News of the West. Stratton. 27 December p. 6.