1972 Woodwork Addition to St. Petrock's Rood Screen by Cyril Copp (and a 1955 sideboard carved by Walter Copp)
Title
1972 Woodwork Addition to St. Petrock's Rood Screen by Cyril Copp (and a 1955 sideboard carved by Walter Copp)
Subject
Description
The top photograph depicts a section of the top right corner of the Rood Screen at St. Petrock's Church. What is seen in the photograph would not be apparent to most of the congregation seated in the pews and facing the screen, as this section is at the top of the southern side of the screen, facing toward the south aisle and overlooking the church organ. The photograph was taken in May 2020 by Marion Jeffrey, founder of the St. Petrock's History Group, standing perilously on her toes, on top of a high stool. What Marion was photographing was not part of the original rood screen built in the 1500's (1). It was created in 1972 by Mr. Cyril Copp.
The rood screen was reputedly carved in Dunster by craftsmen who were all part of the same family, at a time when canon law decreed that churches must have a wooden division between the chancel, the domain of the priest, and the nave where the people stood during a service but was also where the rest of the week they might hold meetings, put on entertainments or just dance and drink (2). The second photograph, taken in 1957 (3), rather suggests how the screen, despite its beauty, can also be seen as a barrier in front of St. Petrock's chancel.
When St. Petrock's Rood Screen was first installed in the church, there was a side chapel on the eastern end of the South Aisle (where the organ is in modern times). Originally the screen is believed to have continued in front of the chapel, so extending the entire width of the church. Also missing from the screen in modern times is a loft that extended across the top of the rood screen, that was probably six feet wide and secure enough to support a choir (4). Behind the old door on the north wall of the church is a narrow winding stone stairway still leading to the former loft, which perhaps was also used as "a safe place to sleep for visiting clergy"(5). Even when no person was up on the loft, there likely would have been a Crucifix overlooking the nave, with figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John on either side (6).
It is not known when the loft or the right end of the rood screen disappeared. Perhaps it was during the Reformation, when it was commonplace to remove the rood screen between clergy and congregation, or the later Puritan period. Or perhaps not, as the bulk of St. Petrock's Rood Screen did survive those turbulent times, when so few others did. In the later 16th and early 17th centuries, woodcarving had become less fashionable (7) and perhaps these areas were simply not maintained.
It is also not known why this particular area of the loft was ornamented by Cyril Copp. Perhaps it had remained as an unfinished area or was weakened when the missing extension of the screen either deteriorated or was removed. Regardless, Mr. Copp's addition was carved with care and in keeping with the rest of the screen. His two rows of foliage correspond well with the more post-medieval designs within the four panels of the cornice running across the top of the front of the screen. Particularly nice is the modern and personal touch of Mr. Copp's top row with "C COPP I972" intertwined within the design. Recessed more deeply inside the work, his signature could not be properly seen until Marion Jeffrey ascended on her wobbly high stool.
Cyril Copp was not a professional woodworker. He was born in 1918, the son of Walter John and Elizabeth Ann (but better known as "Bessie") Copp (8). His mother was a member of Timberscombe's longtime Stenner family, who had partially grown up at The Lion, the village pub when Bessie's parents, Samuel and Jane (nee Hale) Stenner, were the proprietors (9). Cyril was born in Wootton Courtenay, where the Copp family mostly lived but he, Walter and Bessie settled in one of the new council houses built on the western end of Timberscombe, later addressed as No. 5 Bemberry Bank (10). As a young man, Cyril trained as a house painter but like his father, he became a draper and tailor. During World War II, the younger Mr. Copp served with the Black Watch of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (11) and in 1954, he married Brenda Mary Quartly of Totterdown Farm (12). Cyril died in 2009, Brenda died in 2012 and they were buried together at St. Petrock's Churchyard (13). In 2022, villagers still recalled Cyril Copp working in the window at Hobbs, near the Yarn Market in Dunster, always sewing by hand, never using a machine (14). Very likely his tailoring was done with the same care as the woodwork he carved for St. Petrock's.
Cyril would have been 54-years-old when he carved the addition to the Timberscombe Rood Screen. As a boy, he had probably learned how to do so from his father. The third photograph is of an oak sideboard, also with intricate carving and owned by Joyce Smith. She and her husband, Eddie Smith, were friends of the Copp family. The sideboard was a wedding gift to them from Walter John Copp, who had created it with the help of a cabinetmaker. As seen on the fourth photograph, it was "signed" and dated with "W.J. Copp 1955".
Born in 1889, Walter John Copp would have been 66 years old when he carved the oak sideboard (15). He was the son of John Copp, who was born in 1845 at Wootton Courtenay. After serving with the Plymouth Division of the Royal Marines Light Infantry for over 21 years, when John Copp was 47-years-old he married 27-year-old Jane Baker with Walter being born the next year (16). Walter married Bessie in 1915 (17) and their first son, Leonard, was born in 1917 (18). Sadly Cyril's older brother (and only sibling) died at the age of five from Scarlet Fever (19).
Six months after Leonard was born and two years into World War I, Walter enlisted with the newly formed Labour Corps, soldiers who already had manual or skilled labour experience and were prepared, with little training, to aid the troops, be it to build a bridge or repair a uniform (20). After the war, besides his work as a draper and tailor, Walter Copp was the church organist at the Wootton Courtenay Church of All Saints for over 50 years, a keen motorcyclist (21), an avid cricket player and coach (22), a collector of insects, butterflies and bird eggs (23) and served on the Board of Governors for the Timberscombe School from 1937 to 1956 (24). Walter John Copp died in 1970, still living at No. 5 Bemberry Bank (25).
The rood screen was reputedly carved in Dunster by craftsmen who were all part of the same family, at a time when canon law decreed that churches must have a wooden division between the chancel, the domain of the priest, and the nave where the people stood during a service but was also where the rest of the week they might hold meetings, put on entertainments or just dance and drink (2). The second photograph, taken in 1957 (3), rather suggests how the screen, despite its beauty, can also be seen as a barrier in front of St. Petrock's chancel.
When St. Petrock's Rood Screen was first installed in the church, there was a side chapel on the eastern end of the South Aisle (where the organ is in modern times). Originally the screen is believed to have continued in front of the chapel, so extending the entire width of the church. Also missing from the screen in modern times is a loft that extended across the top of the rood screen, that was probably six feet wide and secure enough to support a choir (4). Behind the old door on the north wall of the church is a narrow winding stone stairway still leading to the former loft, which perhaps was also used as "a safe place to sleep for visiting clergy"(5). Even when no person was up on the loft, there likely would have been a Crucifix overlooking the nave, with figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John on either side (6).
It is not known when the loft or the right end of the rood screen disappeared. Perhaps it was during the Reformation, when it was commonplace to remove the rood screen between clergy and congregation, or the later Puritan period. Or perhaps not, as the bulk of St. Petrock's Rood Screen did survive those turbulent times, when so few others did. In the later 16th and early 17th centuries, woodcarving had become less fashionable (7) and perhaps these areas were simply not maintained.
It is also not known why this particular area of the loft was ornamented by Cyril Copp. Perhaps it had remained as an unfinished area or was weakened when the missing extension of the screen either deteriorated or was removed. Regardless, Mr. Copp's addition was carved with care and in keeping with the rest of the screen. His two rows of foliage correspond well with the more post-medieval designs within the four panels of the cornice running across the top of the front of the screen. Particularly nice is the modern and personal touch of Mr. Copp's top row with "C COPP I972" intertwined within the design. Recessed more deeply inside the work, his signature could not be properly seen until Marion Jeffrey ascended on her wobbly high stool.
Cyril Copp was not a professional woodworker. He was born in 1918, the son of Walter John and Elizabeth Ann (but better known as "Bessie") Copp (8). His mother was a member of Timberscombe's longtime Stenner family, who had partially grown up at The Lion, the village pub when Bessie's parents, Samuel and Jane (nee Hale) Stenner, were the proprietors (9). Cyril was born in Wootton Courtenay, where the Copp family mostly lived but he, Walter and Bessie settled in one of the new council houses built on the western end of Timberscombe, later addressed as No. 5 Bemberry Bank (10). As a young man, Cyril trained as a house painter but like his father, he became a draper and tailor. During World War II, the younger Mr. Copp served with the Black Watch of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (11) and in 1954, he married Brenda Mary Quartly of Totterdown Farm (12). Cyril died in 2009, Brenda died in 2012 and they were buried together at St. Petrock's Churchyard (13). In 2022, villagers still recalled Cyril Copp working in the window at Hobbs, near the Yarn Market in Dunster, always sewing by hand, never using a machine (14). Very likely his tailoring was done with the same care as the woodwork he carved for St. Petrock's.
Cyril would have been 54-years-old when he carved the addition to the Timberscombe Rood Screen. As a boy, he had probably learned how to do so from his father. The third photograph is of an oak sideboard, also with intricate carving and owned by Joyce Smith. She and her husband, Eddie Smith, were friends of the Copp family. The sideboard was a wedding gift to them from Walter John Copp, who had created it with the help of a cabinetmaker. As seen on the fourth photograph, it was "signed" and dated with "W.J. Copp 1955".
Born in 1889, Walter John Copp would have been 66 years old when he carved the oak sideboard (15). He was the son of John Copp, who was born in 1845 at Wootton Courtenay. After serving with the Plymouth Division of the Royal Marines Light Infantry for over 21 years, when John Copp was 47-years-old he married 27-year-old Jane Baker with Walter being born the next year (16). Walter married Bessie in 1915 (17) and their first son, Leonard, was born in 1917 (18). Sadly Cyril's older brother (and only sibling) died at the age of five from Scarlet Fever (19).
Six months after Leonard was born and two years into World War I, Walter enlisted with the newly formed Labour Corps, soldiers who already had manual or skilled labour experience and were prepared, with little training, to aid the troops, be it to build a bridge or repair a uniform (20). After the war, besides his work as a draper and tailor, Walter Copp was the church organist at the Wootton Courtenay Church of All Saints for over 50 years, a keen motorcyclist (21), an avid cricket player and coach (22), a collector of insects, butterflies and bird eggs (23) and served on the Board of Governors for the Timberscombe School from 1937 to 1956 (24). Walter John Copp died in 1970, still living at No. 5 Bemberry Bank (25).
Creator
Marion Jeffrey /
Anonymous /
Marion Jeffrey /
Marion Jeffrey
Anonymous /
Marion Jeffrey /
Marion Jeffrey
Date
May 2020
April 1957
May 2020
May 2020
April 1957
May 2020
May 2020
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
1972 woodwork addition to the St. Petrock's Rood Screen, carved by Cyril Copp and 1957 photograph of the St. Petrock's Rood Screen and Chancel, both at St. Petrock's Church, Timberscombe / two 2020 photographs, taken at Ford Cottage, Timberscombe, of an oak sideboard carved, signed and dated by William John Copp in 1955
Acquisition Date
2020
2019
2020
2020
2019
2020
2020
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
PLACES: Churches and Chapels / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2022
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
10.5 X 13.5 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
10.5 x 13.5. ( ARTWORK)
14.5 X 8 X 8.5 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
10.5 X 14 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
9 X 12. (ARTWORK)
7 X 18 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
10.5 x 13.5. ( ARTWORK)
14.5 X 8 X 8.5 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
10.5 X 14 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
9 X 12. (ARTWORK)
7 X 18 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) "St. Petrock's Church Timberscombe", church pamphlet written by Marion Jeffrey, 2017 (2) "THE VILLAGE OF TIMBERSCOMBE AND ITS CHURCH" by B.L.K. Henderson and G.O.E. Henderson, printed by E. Goodman & Son Ltd., The Phoenix Press, Taunton, 1955 (3) St. Petrock's History Group has had a copy of this photograph since 2019 and an original copy of the photograph was offered on Etsy on 16 October 2022 which showed handwritten on its reverse "EN-QT. TIMBERSCOMBE CHURCH SCREEN 4/57" (4) Volume 2, page 195 of "Roodscreens and Roodlofts"by Fredereick Bligh Bond and Rev. Dom Bede Camm, Pitman, London, 1909, reprinted by David and Jerry Sampson on page 4 of "TIMBERSCOMBE St. Petrock, Somerset Churches Project, August 2019, Archaeological Assessment, 2019 (5) St. Petrock's Church Timberscombe" (6) "THE VILLAGE OF TIMBERSCOMBE AND ITS CHURCH" (7) "THE VILLAGE OF TIMBERSCOMBE AND IT'S CHURCH", where Mr. Henderson and Rev. Henderson are actually speaking of the pulpit (8) 1939 England and Wales Register (9) 1911 England Census (10) Timberscombe School, ADMISSION REGISTER, 1897-1944, No. 420 and 1939 England and Wales Register (11) as pictured at SP-293, donated by Timberscombe School / a copy of the photograph is in Volume 30, Photographs of Wootton Courtenay, West Somerset Rural Life Museum, Allerford, Somerset that identified Mr. Copp as serving with the Black Watch (12) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 and "AWAY & HOME-WORLD WAR II, Somerset and Essex, 1939-1945" by Pat Herniman, published by Papermill Books, Little Baddow, in association with the Little Baddow History Centre, 2016---a memoir where Mrs. Herniman recalled her friendship with Brenda Quartly (13) UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current (14) as recalled in 2020 by Joyce Smith of Ford Cottage (15) Family History Resources (FindMyPast.co.uk), forbears.io / Births, 1837-2007 and 1939 England and Wales Register (16) 1871, 1881 and 1891 England Censuses, Family History Resources (FindMyPast.co.uk), forbears.io/ Marriage Index, 1837-1915 and England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 (17) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 (18) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 (19) England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 and Timberscombe School LOG BOOK, 3 April 1910 - 2 April 1947 (20) UK, British Army World War I Pension Records, 1914-1910 and UK, British Army, World War I Medal Rolls Index and Cards, 1914-1921 (21) as recorded in Volume 30, Photographs of Wootton Courtenay, West Somerset Rural Life Museum, Allerford, Somerset (22) as evident in Timberscombe Cricket Club photographs at SP-166, SP-167, SP-170, SP-173 and SP-175 (23) " MILES FROM HOME, EVACUEES IN TIMBERSCOMBE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR" by Alan Hines, copyright by Alan Hines, July 2022 (24) Timberscombe School MINUTES BOOK, 3 April 1830-2 April 1974 (25) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1865-1995
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group ARCHIVE
Storage Date
2022
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
St. Petrock's History Group ARTWORK
St. Petrock's History Group ARTWORK
Item Reference
SP-219
Technique
Copies
Citation
Marion Jeffrey /
Anonymous /
Marion Jeffrey /
Marion Jeffrey, “1972 Woodwork Addition to St. Petrock's Rood Screen by Cyril Copp (and a 1955 sideboard carved by Walter Copp),” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed April 26, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3491.
Comments