St Andrew
Lectern – Newspaper article (Western Morning News, 1904) Messrs Powell architects; 1904
This lectern is an unusual and beautiful design with the supports for the book rest echoing the vaulting in the ancient screen behind. The best evidence for its provenance is provided by a very short newspaper report in 1904, stating that work on the lectern had been carried out by R. Pinwill of Plymouth. It also names the designer as Messrs Powell of London, which provides the first evidence of the sisters working with an architect aside from Edmund H. Sedding. Historic England (Harberton) provides an erroneous date of 1911 but does attribute the work to the Misses Pinwell (sic).
Tower Screen – Historic England (Harberton); date unknown
This item does not appear in the photographs in PWDRO, but HE states that the work was carried out by the Misses Pinwell (sic). In November 2018, further evidence came to light in the form of a statement of accounts for the ‘Restoration and Re-building of the Organ’ in 1911 (Stanley Oldfield, Harberton Church, pers. comm.). This work entailed the removal of the organ from the gallery at the west end, the subsequent widening of the archway into the tower and the installation of a new tower screen. The statement lists Miss Pinwell (sic) as being paid £54 10s 0d for the screen, a sum that seems appropriate for a piece of work this size. The statement also names Messrs F. Drake & Sons as being paid £6 3s 0d for work related to the screen, which would have been for installation of its leaded glass.
Sources
Western Morning News (1904) West of England News. 17 November p. 6.