DOI Heft:
No. 90 (September, 1900)
DOI Artikel:Henwood Blamey, J.: A few notes on bench-ends
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19785#0271
Bench-ends
many of our churches still retain their original
old bench-ends, which are to-day as firm and
hard as a rock.
Although the accompanying drawings are on
too small a scale to do more than give a sugges-
tion of the beauty of the originals, they will, I
hope, give a fair idea of the variety and vitality
of their design.
The subjects of many of the old carvings
found on bench-ends and misereres were drawn
from fable and romance, one of the most
frequent being that of Reynard the Fox, satirical
poems of which were very popular during the
Middle Ages. This fable was treated in every
variety of way with a strong sense of humour
and satire. The crafty fox is often being hung
by his would-be victims ; and the hunter is seen
stewing in the pot, whilst the hare is keeping
up a good fire. No doubt these carvings poked
fun at many of the follies and wrongs of the
age, and were often used by the parochial
BENCH-END AT BISHOP'S LYDEARD FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
BENCH-END AT BISHOP'S LYDEARD FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
clergy for a satire on the preaching orders and
abbots of some neighbouring abbeys whose
interference with their flocks continually gave
rise to bad feeling in mediaeval times.
There are three bench-ends at South Brent
which are good examples of this class and are
supposed by those learned in church history to
have been set up to commemorate the triumph of
the secular clergy of South Brent over their enemies
the Abbots of Glastonbury.
It appears that the Abbots of Glastonbury were
worthy followers of St. Dunstan, ambitious and
grasping, and one of their members had made up
his mind to get hold of the emoluments of South
Brent; but the incumbent successfully resisted.
The abbot is here held up to ridicule as the
crafty fox in monastic robe and cowl, wearing a
mitre, and holding a pastoral crook. On the
crook hangs a fleece, showing that the flock was
not "guarded" for nothing. At the feet of the
fox are three swine heads protruding from cowls,
sarcastically alluding to the low intellect of the
monks; there are also geese and various kinds of
birds, all in dutiful subordination to the fox. In
the lower division of the panel is a pig on a spit
roasting over a roaring fire ; on each side sits an
ape, one holding a plate and spoon, and the other
many of our churches still retain their original
old bench-ends, which are to-day as firm and
hard as a rock.
Although the accompanying drawings are on
too small a scale to do more than give a sugges-
tion of the beauty of the originals, they will, I
hope, give a fair idea of the variety and vitality
of their design.
The subjects of many of the old carvings
found on bench-ends and misereres were drawn
from fable and romance, one of the most
frequent being that of Reynard the Fox, satirical
poems of which were very popular during the
Middle Ages. This fable was treated in every
variety of way with a strong sense of humour
and satire. The crafty fox is often being hung
by his would-be victims ; and the hunter is seen
stewing in the pot, whilst the hare is keeping
up a good fire. No doubt these carvings poked
fun at many of the follies and wrongs of the
age, and were often used by the parochial
BENCH-END AT BISHOP'S LYDEARD FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
BENCH-END AT BISHOP'S LYDEARD FROM A SKETCH
BY J. H. BLAMEY
clergy for a satire on the preaching orders and
abbots of some neighbouring abbeys whose
interference with their flocks continually gave
rise to bad feeling in mediaeval times.
There are three bench-ends at South Brent
which are good examples of this class and are
supposed by those learned in church history to
have been set up to commemorate the triumph of
the secular clergy of South Brent over their enemies
the Abbots of Glastonbury.
It appears that the Abbots of Glastonbury were
worthy followers of St. Dunstan, ambitious and
grasping, and one of their members had made up
his mind to get hold of the emoluments of South
Brent; but the incumbent successfully resisted.
The abbot is here held up to ridicule as the
crafty fox in monastic robe and cowl, wearing a
mitre, and holding a pastoral crook. On the
crook hangs a fleece, showing that the flock was
not "guarded" for nothing. At the feet of the
fox are three swine heads protruding from cowls,
sarcastically alluding to the low intellect of the
monks; there are also geese and various kinds of
birds, all in dutiful subordination to the fox. In
the lower division of the panel is a pig on a spit
roasting over a roaring fire ; on each side sits an
ape, one holding a plate and spoon, and the other