DOI issue:
No. 90 (September, 1900)
DOI article:Henwood Blamey, J.: A few notes on bench-ends
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19785#0270
Bench-ends
stone and woodwork. In no district in
England were local traditions more vigorous
and lasting, and these traditions give a charm
and historic interest to the carvings.
Tradition has so completely faded out of
English carving that it is difficult at the
present time to realise its full meaning and
value. The only way is to study the art
locally where it grew, and by so doing it is
possible to learn much of the general features
and sentiments of the work of a particular
district for centuries.
This sense of consecutive tradition was of
the greatest use to the mediaeval craftsmen,
and one feels that their work was designed to
form a part of the building it adorns.
Although the woodwork as a whole is in
perfect harmony, this in no way fettered the
imagination of the carver. There is an
absence of mechanical repetition, and no
two bench-ends are exactly alike, but all are
full of fresh and original design.
And in judging these old carvings we must
remember that in mediaeval times there were
no architects, in the modern sense of the
word, who designed everything down to the
handle of a door. No doubt someone de-
BENCH-END AT SOUTH BRENT FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
BENCH-END AT EAST BRENT FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
signed the main proportions of a building, but
the stone and woodwork were left to the local
craftsman; his sense of tradition kept him right,
and his imagination and sound workmanship
gave it beauty. Most of the best carvings on
old bench-ends date from the 15th century
and early part of the 16th century, but in
many districts, where old traditions lasted
longer, excellent work was done well into the
17 th century.
The material of which the old bench-ends
were constructed was, almost without excep-
tion, good English oak of splendid quality,
almost free from knots, and of extraordinary
and apparently unnecessary strength, which is
characteristic of all early woodwork. This is,
no doubt, due to the ease with which large
blocks of timber could then be obtained, and
in the old days when all timber was hand-cut
it must have been a great deal cheaper. It is,
however, quite as much due to the excellence
of their construction as their massiveness that
237
stone and woodwork. In no district in
England were local traditions more vigorous
and lasting, and these traditions give a charm
and historic interest to the carvings.
Tradition has so completely faded out of
English carving that it is difficult at the
present time to realise its full meaning and
value. The only way is to study the art
locally where it grew, and by so doing it is
possible to learn much of the general features
and sentiments of the work of a particular
district for centuries.
This sense of consecutive tradition was of
the greatest use to the mediaeval craftsmen,
and one feels that their work was designed to
form a part of the building it adorns.
Although the woodwork as a whole is in
perfect harmony, this in no way fettered the
imagination of the carver. There is an
absence of mechanical repetition, and no
two bench-ends are exactly alike, but all are
full of fresh and original design.
And in judging these old carvings we must
remember that in mediaeval times there were
no architects, in the modern sense of the
word, who designed everything down to the
handle of a door. No doubt someone de-
BENCH-END AT SOUTH BRENT FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
BENCH-END AT EAST BRENT FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
signed the main proportions of a building, but
the stone and woodwork were left to the local
craftsman; his sense of tradition kept him right,
and his imagination and sound workmanship
gave it beauty. Most of the best carvings on
old bench-ends date from the 15th century
and early part of the 16th century, but in
many districts, where old traditions lasted
longer, excellent work was done well into the
17 th century.
The material of which the old bench-ends
were constructed was, almost without excep-
tion, good English oak of splendid quality,
almost free from knots, and of extraordinary
and apparently unnecessary strength, which is
characteristic of all early woodwork. This is,
no doubt, due to the ease with which large
blocks of timber could then be obtained, and
in the old days when all timber was hand-cut
it must have been a great deal cheaper. It is,
however, quite as much due to the excellence
of their construction as their massiveness that
237