FLIMWELL East Sussex
St Augustine of Canterbury
(Photograph: Cassie Tillett)
From Dart and Francis letters, dated 1 March 1920: Oak memorial tablet
frame moulded and carved as ¼” full size detail with carved inscription on lower
rail, fitting and fixing metal panel to be supplied to us free, decorating with
part red paint and part gilding in the sum of THIRTY POUNDS, inclusive of
packing and delivery to the above. By the end of April, the estimate had
risen to £33. The said memorial tablet was erected and is typical in style.
The inscription along the bottom reads: THANKS BE TO GOD WHO GIVETH US THE
VICTORY
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD A visit to the church revealed that
Fellowes Prynne had a considerable involvement in the restoration, and that this
memorial tablet was but a part of a much greater project. It appears that the
whole chancel restoration was carried out after the War, as the plaque behind
the oak screen indicates. THIS CHANCEL WAS RESTORED AND THE SCREEN ERECTED
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF GEORGE J. GOSCHEN WHO GAVE HIS LIFE IN THE
GREAT WAR The aforementioned oak screen is very much in the style of
Fellowes Prynne’s screens in this part of England, being simpler and with less
elaborate infill of tracery than, say, St. Cleer. The lavishness
of the sanctuary mosaic tiling and murals would be masked by a heavier screen.
At the time of writing, other aspects of the church’s interior suggest
themselves to be the work of Fellowes Prynne, but as yet these are unconfirmed. |
