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THE SCULPTED CORBELS
IN THE SOUTH AISLE
The roof beams
in the south aisle are held on 8 stone corbels, 4 on each side.
These corbels are sculpted into plant designs. They are pictured
here numbered 1 (top right) to 8 (top left) in sequence starting
at the east end of the south wall and ending at the east end of the
north wall. The style is not mediaeval and we can deduce that
these corbels were made and put in during the 1875
restoration when all the roof timbers were replaced.
1Hawthorn
leaves above, hawthorn leaves and flower below.
2 Vine leaves
and grapes and ears of corn above. Five lobed hawthorn foliage below
with hawthorn hips.
3 Hawthorn
leaves and flower above and below.
4 Roses above,
hawthorn leaves and flower below.
The rose is a modern high-centered variety, not the flatter variety
of medieval times. There are no thorns, possibly to represent
the Virgin Mary who was a "rose without a thorn".
5 Hawthorn
leaves above and below.
6 Oak leaves
above, hawthorn leaves below.
7 Oak leaves
above, oak leaves and acorns below
8
Bunches of grapes and grape leaves above, hawthorn leaves below.
The corn and
grapes of corbels 2 and 8 symbolize bread and wine and are
positioned at the east end by the piscina in the south wall where there was an altar in
earlier times.
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