70 THE CHURCH SCREENS OF DORSET. 



CRANBORNE. 



Until the year 1855 this church possessed an excellent 

 wooden rood screen. In that year the screen was pulled 

 down and stored in a neighbouring barn by the then Lord 

 Salisbury. Some years later the barn was destroyed and the 

 remains of the screen were removed piecemeal by the villagers. 

 At the present time only one small fragment can be traced. 

 This was discovered by the Vicar in a carpenter's shop. It is 

 about one foot in length by three inches in breadth, and 

 consists of two tracery heads. These heads are plain and 

 rounded. The whole is covered with brown paint, but traces 

 of the original colouring can be detected in places. Apparently 

 the background was white picked out with red and gold. The 

 loss of this fine screen cannot be too deeply deplored, 

 especially as it had survived the fanaticism of the 16th and 

 17th centuries only to fall before the onslaught of the 

 Victorian restorers. 



DORCHESTER ALL SAINTS. 



This church was rebuilt in 1845, and replaced an edifice 

 erected in 1613, which in its turn succeeded a pre-reformation 

 church. Behind the choir stalls are two pieces of screenwork 

 identical in design. These must have belonged to the pre- 

 reformation fabric. The wainscot in two tiers is Jacobean, 

 and resembles some bench ends in the church. The standards 

 are not framed up, being cut short at the wainscot. The 

 upper part is late Perpendicular, and has tracery heads with 

 crocketed ogee arches. The top beam is ornamented with 

 detached leaves. There is a large cresting with pinnacles, 

 which are clumsy and evidently do not belong to their present 

 position. At present both screens are smothered in thick 

 brown paint. 



FONTMELL MAGNA. 



In the tower arch is a good wooden screen of early 16th 

 century date, formerly in the south aisle before the church 

 was rebuilt. The wainscot is formed of linen fold panels, and 



