Dauntsey Doom
Article in the Parish Pump- Dauntsey's Parish Magazine
The Rise of Dauntsey’s Doom Board
Dauntsey and its Church, St James the
Great, is very lucky to be the home of a very rare national treasure.
This treasure, the Dauntsey Doom Board, is one of only five Judgment Day
paintings painted on wooden boards that still exists. The Doom paintings
were a very common feature in churches up until the Reformation of the
1600s. The Dauntsey Doom at this point was covered over.
Lucy Histed provides a brief account of its
discovery and then answers the questions where has it been until now?
And, what did the recent restoration process involve? Details of the
factors considered before the doom board was rehung in the church in
2006, what the restoration focused upon, plus the various movements of
the doom around the church before it was removed for restoration will
also be made clear.
Many myths have permeated the discovery of the
doom and, for many years, it was thought that it was found under the
stone slabs of the church, hidden there by 16th-century parishioners.
However, this is very unlikely and there is more evidence for it having
been kept in position above the rood and plastered over during the 16th
century. The doom was discovered in the mid-19th century, allegedly, by
the Rector of the time, George Biedermann. Biedermann became Rector in
1829, having spent time as curate at Great Somerford between 1823 and
1826. He carried out a great deal of work during his time at Dauntsey
and it is possible that he came across the doom, positioned above the
rood screen, between the chancel and nave and hidden under a layer of
plaster, while consolidating the building.
Work on the church during George Biedermann’s time
began in 1830. Records of payment were made for painting, carpenters’
work and modest amounts of masons’ work and paving, though this is not
definite evidence that such work uncovered the doom. Biedermann was a
well-known amateur antiquarian and was passionate about displaying his
discoveries; on the occasion of the third General Meeting of the
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, he exhibited the
doom in 1855 in Chippenham. During Biedermann’s time at Dauntsey, he
also rebuilt the rectory, incorporating many antiquarian finds into the
building. Two of the church tower’s bells were also recast and the whole
peal was rehung.
After Biedermann’s death in 1859, the doom is next
mentioned in 1864 by Sir Stephen Glynne who viewed it in the ‘north
chapel’ (now the vestry) along with some ‘gorgeous marble monuments’,
which, of course, are still there. Whether Biedermann hung it here, or
not, is uncertain. Later, it was reported that the doom was hung on the
south wall of the chapel. Most recently, from 1879, it was hung on the
west wall of the north aisle of the church while work was carried out on
the chancel (this was when the organ was installed in the church).
In 1994, in anticipation of further work that was
going to be carried out in the church, English Heritage removed the doom
to
The restorers also gained a couple of other
fascinating insights into the doom. If you look closely at the doom, you
will see that the tops of the lower boards have been trimmed and the
corners cut out and numerous holes made in the boards themselves.
According to one report (Plummer,1999), these modifications seem to have
been made after the rediscovery of the doom, though at what point has
never been confirmed. Furthermore, two other paintings were found below
the existing layer. That means that there are three layers of paint! The
second layer is apparently a painting of angels with, possibly, a
‘person of note’ on a red background of yellow stars and plus fleur-de-lys.
The images on the third layer are indistinguishable so we are unlikely
to ever know what the 14th-century congregation would have seen (Tobit
Curteis, 2005).
As the restoration drew to a close, it became
important to establish the environment of the church, into which the
restored panels would be placed. This began in 2004. Fortunately, they
found that it was a very stable environment that held the correct
humidity and offered the doom sanctuary (Tobit Curteis, 2005).
Therefore, there has been little hesitation in repositioning the doom
above the rood screen, where it would have been situated in the 16th
century. However, before the real one was rehung here, an imitation doom
was put in place to confirm how the procedure of placing the real one in
situ would work. This seems to have been a wise decision and now the
real doom looks particularly spectacular and is enhanced by the
specially designed lighting.
Of course, the doom is best seen in real life, so
come to Dauntsey and take a pew. Not only is the doom a rare national
treasure, it is part of the fabric of our region and one that we should
all appreciate. If you want to find out more information about the
fundraising for the upkeep and payment of the restoration, contact John
Histed (01249 890 993). If you would like to visit the church and view
the doom board for yourself (which is highly recommended), the church is
open on regular days.
Meadows, J (2006) ‘The Dauntsey Doom Panel:
Tree-ring dating’ Research News. 4: Summer 2006.
© Lucy Histed, 2007
Gary Danvers
Gary Danvers of New Zealand is a descendant of the Dauntsey Danvers Family. He described the Doom on his website in 199XX (and has given us permission to use his images
Colour Image on Flickr
A visitor on Dec 30 2006 took this picture and posted it on Flikr.
English Heritage Research News
Look at Page 41 of this .pdf file to see how English Heritage dated the Doom to 1369-1399 and established that it was probably made from local wood.
www.paintedchurch.org
