212 EVOLUTION OF THE COUNTRY CHUKCHES. 



the eastern window of the north chancel of the Vale, which is 

 complete, the eastern window of the south aisle at St. Sampson's 

 (the head only) and a fragment of the head of the east window 

 of the chantry on the north side of the Catel Church. 



Fonts of original work exist at St. Martin's only and I do 

 not feel too sure of the authenticity of this. 



Of interior wood work, there remains little or no trace. I 

 do not imagine the country churches were fitted up as Devonshire 

 and other counties in England were, wtth screens, parcloses, 

 pulpits, lecterns and the other appurtenances of worship. We 

 were not altogether without some of them as several of the 

 churches, for instance Catel, Forest and St. Andrew's show 

 signs in grooves in the stone work round the chancel of having 

 at one time had a screen or enclosure of some kind to separate 

 the chancel from the nave. But at the Reformation too clean a 

 sweep was made of the interiors to have left anything so 

 perishable as wood behind, and no actual traces of any remains, 

 though it may be possible that some pieces may be incorporated 

 into the pulpit at St. Martin's. 



There are to be found in several of the country churches 

 curious alms boxes in the form of apparently trunks of trees 

 with a hole cut in the top and fitted with a cover to receive the 

 alms ; they are to be found at St. Peter's-in-the-Wood and St. 

 Saviour's, but are in danger of being replaced by the alms box of 

 the church furniture shop. They are not old, probably dating 

 from the end of the 17th Century, but are nevertheless interesting. 



There is no trace in any Church of a rood loft or even of the 

 stairs of approach. 



An important feature in the interior of the country churches 

 which various restorers have attempted to do away with is the 

 level of the floor in relation to the outside ground, and with the 

 exception of the Forest and St. Saviour's, every church had steps 

 down into the body of the church from the entrance. In some 

 this feature remains as before, e.g., at the Vale and St. Andrew's, 

 but an attempt has been made at the following churches to bring 

 up the level of the floor. -^- St. Martin's, where the effect has been 

 to dwarf the proportions of the flamboyant porch, and to bring 

 the stoup at the doorway to the level almost of the knees instead 

 of being shoulder high ; at the Catel, where the raising of the 

 floor has reduced the height of a priest's door in the east wall to 

 about 3 ft. instead of 6 ft.; at St. Peter's-in-the-Wood, where the 

 bases of the last columns are covered over to allow of the raising 

 of the floor ; and at St. Sampson's where the heightening of the 

 floor has been slight and resulting in one step only down into 

 the vestry where probably the original level of the church may 

 be found. 



