Of the following six, three are unable to be used, owing to their state of decay.

H 1. 16 in. (1, 3.) Vide plate 3.

In upper two-thirds a half-length female figure in profile, face to the right. Head enveloped in a handkerchief tied in a small knot over the forehead, no hair shown. Right hand supports an earthen pitcher with handle apparently an ale-pot. Habit, a plain somewhat loose and tattered dress, folded over the shoulder. Lower third contains a boldly-cut square architectural flower.

H 2. 16 in. (5.)

Two squares each with a formal tri-parted leaf, occupying the entire space.

H 3. 11 in. (1.)

Panel divided into two equal-sized squares. The one above contains an oblong flower, with the upper and lower petals much contorted. That below is divided by a bend dexter, with half-flowers of triangular shape in the spaces.

H 4.

11 in. (1.)

Two and a half squares. A formal square flower in the upper, and also in the lower (half square). The middle one divided by a bend sinister, each space containing a triangular leaf.

H 5. 11 in. (1.)

A long stalked leaf folded backwards and forwards upon itself six times.

H 6.

Stolen. Subject of the carving unknown.

The fronts and backs of the pews, where they abut on the passages, are, with one exception, of the same date as the carved ends, and bear the same stamp-marks. They are separated into divisions of equal breadth by carved mullions, connected above by slight tracery. The bases are divided into oblong squares, two to each division, and contain carved. decorations of various kinds.

Several of the carvings have been mutilated by a deep chase about an inch wide, being cut immediately and horizontally across their surfaces, on the same level as the

6 Cf. illustrations in LLEW. JEWITT'S Ceramic Art of Great Britain (1878), i. 82, 83.

pew seats. They were probably made for providing additional single seats along the passages.

Bloxam.remarks that "both in Somersetshire and Devonshire the carved woodwork on seats in the churches is exceeding rich, and in many cases cut out of block." (iii. 139.) Of this our parish church affords an excellent illustration, and offers a kind of counterbalance to the general plainness of the building.

That the carvings were executed in 1537 we are made aware of, by that year being recorded on one of the pew-ends. (C 2.) It is noteworthy for being one of the earliest dated pews in England, and, as far as is yet known, is the only example in Devonshire.7 That it is the correct date is corroborated, first, by the costumes delineated in the carvings, in which the various persons are habited, as well as the form of the ship, being that of the early part of the 16th century; and, secondly, by the fact that the Ralegh family, whose arms appear on two of the pews (C 1 and 2), were unconnected with the parish until after the year 1518.

That the work was executed by various artisans is demonstrated by its unequal character; the contrast, for example, of the shallow and poorly-carved E. 4, with the bold and yet simple cutting of C. 4, is very striking. There is a ruggedness and simplicity in the latter, characteristic and attractive; no attempt having been made to soften the hard lines left by the chisel, or to make the narrow band separating the panel from the border, perfectly straight, or its bounding lines strictly parallel. At the same time, where delicate treatment was necessary it was equally well rendered, as is exemplified in the imbricated leaves on the shield.

The workers were certainly unacquainted with heraldry, for the carvings are destitute of tinctures, and the various charges on the shields are not displayed correctly, e.g. in the Ralegh arms (C. 1.) the 5 fusils in bend are irregular in size, and not in a straight line.

That they were all executed at the same period, we have the evidence of the stamp-marks exhibited by all the carvings, with four exceptions. These stamps were used to serve

7 T. WRIGHT, in his article "On the Antiquity of Dates expressed in Arabic numerals" (Essays on Archæology, 1861, ii. 81), records an example of a similar date on a seat at Oldham Church, Suffolk, which is the earliest mentioned by him. A portion of carved woodwork formerly belonging to the Rectory of Clyst St. George, bears the date 1540. (E.D.A.S. i. N.S. plate 19.) In Hook's Church Dictionary, art. "Pew," the earliest dated example is stated to be at Geddington St. Mary, Northamptonshire-as a matter of fact it is a good deal later, the year recorded being 1602.