Timber altar rail, 1682

3D Model

Timber altar rail, carved in oak and inscribed “MICHAEL DAVIS 1682”, before the step to the sanctuary of St Thomas à Becket’s Church, Capel. The rail comprises a long top rail supported on a close-set series of turned balusters, each shaped in a characteristic mid-17th-century profile with bulbous centres and ringed necks, standing on a moulded bottom rail. The balusters are evenly spaced and tightly framed, giving the rail both structural solidity and a rhythm characteristic of domestic joinery of the period adapted to ecclesiastical use. Either side of the central gated section, the rail is strengthened by square newel-like posts with moulded caps surmounted by turned finials, marking divisions in the long run of balusters. The central section carries the carved dedication, the inscription cut in shallow relief with confidently executed serifed letters typical of vernacular church carving of the late Stuart period. The rail exemplifies the post-1662 emphasis on defined altar spaces within parish churches.