Altar rail
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1710
Materials
Turned and joined oak
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire
NT 494493
Summary
A pair of oak communion rails, or altar rails, English, circa 1710. Both topped by a moulded rail above a run of twelve complete (and two half) knopped and ball-turned balusters, between square-section newels with sunken arched panels, with applied mouldings and on a moulded base rail. Removable. -- This pair of beautiful communion rails is thought to have been installed by Edward Dryden (d. 1717) around 1710, as part of extensive improvements to the house and church. At the same time, his cousin, Mrs Elizabeth Creed, is thought to have painted the baroque drapery and putti surrounding the east window.
Provenance
Installed circa 1710. The Dryden Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund) and transferred to The National Trust in 1980/1.