Page:Wood carvings in English churches II.djvu/87

 magnificent font cover, only add to its charm (66). Other examples of John Cosin's time are to be seen at Brancepeth where he was formerly rector from 1626 to 1633; the stalls, screens and pulpit of that church are simply delightful (93). More of this work is to be seen in the chapel of the Bishop's palace at Bishop's Auckland; in the church of his son-in-law at Sedgefield and at Sherburn hospital. So Gothic in spirit is this work that it has been again and again ascribed to Elizabethan times, e.g., by Billings in his County of Durham. In spite of the coarseness of some of the detail and that here and there a bit of Classical detail creeps in, it is most interesting and enjoyable; would that we had more of these delightful admixtures of Classic and Gothic forms; plentiful in Spain and France, they are rare with us.



The stalls in Dunblane cathedral are thought by Messrs Macgibbon and Ross to have been put up in the time of Bishop James Chisholm (1486-1534). In that case they would be c. 1520. "The work is rather rough in execution, not to be