72 THE CHURCH SCREENS OF DORSET. 



OKEFORD FITZPAINE. 



This church retained its sumptuous rood screen and loft 

 until the early part of the the 19th century. Only a few 

 fragments now remain of its ancient glory. These are four 

 panels from the front of the loft, each having three quatrefoils 

 with paterae in the centre one above the other, also three 

 panels with cusped ogee heads, which seem to have come 

 from the east side of the loft. The front panels are consider- 

 ably higher than the others. All the panels bear traces of 

 gold, red and blue. A few pieces of the cornice enrichments 

 remain, with trailing vine and traces of colour. There is a 

 good description, in Hutchins, of the loft as it appeared prior 

 to its destruction. 



PORTESHAM. 



The rood screen remains in tolerable preservation, but has 

 suffered much from injudicious restoration. The base beam 

 is modern, as is the panelling on the north side. The wains- 

 cot has rather meagre tracery on the panels, in the upper part 

 of which holes have been bored, probably during the 

 restoration. This tracery was most probably applied at the 

 same time that the holes were bored. The middle rail is plain. 

 The doors remain and have ogee tracery heads on the panels. 

 The upper part of the screen has thick moulded muntins, and 

 tracery heads with ogee foliated arches with quatrefoils in the 

 spandrels. The top beam has a deep moulding. In the 

 spandrels of the doorhead are Tudor roses. Both top beam 

 and middle rail have a poor modern cresting. 



PULHAM. 



In the "squints on either side of the chancel arch are 

 inserted some pieces of wooden tracery of excellent design, 

 which formerly belonged to the rood screen. Beyond these 

 two fragments nothing now remains of the screen, but, judging 

 from what has survived, it must have been a line piece of 

 work. Both fragments show traces of gilding and painting. 



