St Andrew
Beams and Bosses – Newspaper article (Western Morning News, 1911) G.H. Fellowes Prynne architect; 1911
There are no indications of this commission in either the family memoir or the archive at PWDRO but an article in the Western Morning News in December 1911 provides some detail. It reports that a great deal of money had already been spent on the restoration of the church over the previous years and only the porch remained in a dilapidated state. Revd W. Surtees was about to take his leave of the parish and determined that this work should be completed. As a result, the roof of the porch was filled with richly carved beams and bosses, in keeping with the interior of the church. The work was carried out by Rashleigh Pinwill of Plymouth to plans by the architect George Fellowes Prynne. The porch was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Totnes and a public tea followed in the afternoon. The roof within the church is indeed impressive with many important late medieval figurative bosses, including a pair of foliate (‘Green Man’) heads and one depicting the Three Hares.
Sources
Western Morning News (1911) Sampford Courtenay Church. Restoration Completed. 7 December p. 8.