Publications
Alfriston and its Star Inn, by Miller Christy, published 1928 (19 pp., London: Trust Houses) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Review by W. H. G. [W. H. Godfrey] in Sussex Notes and Queries, August 1928:It is too rarely our fortune to have occasion to congratulate commerce upon its appreciation of the arts, nor are many institutions with avowedly lofty aims careful of such ancient monuments as are found in their care. It is all the pleasanter to record that Trust Houses, Ltd., which was formed to rescue the village and town hostelry from the degradation which threatened them, has not only performed its primary duty, but is taking pains to preserve - and also to make known - the beauties of its ancient inns. The account, before us, of the Star Inn at Alfriston is one of a series of booklets which the late Mr. Miller Christy was preparing for Messrs. Trust Houses at the time of his death, and the pleasantness and effectiveness of its pages are a measure of the loss which will be felt now that his active interest and enthusiasm have left us. But we hope his work will be carried on by others in the same spirit and with the same educative aim and purpose.
Alfriston is rich in having three ancient inns, and of these the Star is easily the most interesting by reason of its fine 15th century timber front, and the vigorous carvings with which it is adorned. For the first time we have in this pamphlet beautiful and clear illustrations of these designs, and they are well worthy of study. It is, of course, a temptation to read into them more than they signify, and the fact that their subjects, especially the monogram IHS and the figure of the bishop with a hare at his feet, are obviously drawn from ecclesiastical sources, suggests perhaps inevitably a connection with the church. That such a connection is extremely improbable, however, will be evident even to those who do not subscribe to Dr. Coulton's extreme views on the complete independence of mediaeval art from church influences.
We have no early records of this interesting house. Its entrance door opens on to a beautiful room (now divided into two parts, but, we may hope, one day to be re-united), with moulded beams of great size, hollow-chamfered joists and a stone fireplace of which the cornice is held by angel-corbels. A perfect example, this, of our domestic architecture at the close of the 15th century, and evidently a little chef-d'oeuvre of some resident or travelling carpenter. I am inclined to think he was the latter, one from Lewes or Chichester, who had perhaps finished a fine piece of screen or stall-work and sojourned in Alfriston for this chance job or for recruitment of health. The choice of subjects for his carving troubled him little; he was concerned solely with their effect, and we have here no doubt a mingling of his imagination and his memory of past work, with no evidence of any serious desire to select anything strictly a propos. Nevertheless, the carvings have some meaning, they are part of the body of mediaeval emblematic lore and they are proper subjects for our study and speculation. The little figure of the bold assailant attacking an amphisbaena, the serpent or dragon with a head on its tail, (which we are permitted to reproduce here) whether it be St. Michael or Guy of Warwick or any other doughty champion, is a spirited bit of carving.
A parallel to the Alfriston craftsman is to be found at Long Melford, where the artist who carved the fine Lady Chapel, in the Church, evidently turned his hand to the Bull Inn, another Trust House and another subject of Mr. Christy's pen. These houses are now in good hands, but they call for further record with careful architectural drawings. The photographic views are a good beginning and congratulations are due to the enlightened owners. May we suggest that they should find a way to restore the original arrangement of the ground floor, and also free the front of the building of its unsightly advertisement board. Such good wine needs no bush
Alfriston is rich in having three ancient inns, and of these the Star is easily the most interesting by reason of its fine 15th century timber front, and the vigorous carvings with which it is adorned. For the first time we have in this pamphlet beautiful and clear illustrations of these designs, and they are well worthy of study. It is, of course, a temptation to read into them more than they signify, and the fact that their subjects, especially the monogram IHS and the figure of the bishop with a hare at his feet, are obviously drawn from ecclesiastical sources, suggests perhaps inevitably a connection with the church. That such a connection is extremely improbable, however, will be evident even to those who do not subscribe to Dr. Coulton's extreme views on the complete independence of mediaeval art from church influences.
We have no early records of this interesting house. Its entrance door opens on to a beautiful room (now divided into two parts, but, we may hope, one day to be re-united), with moulded beams of great size, hollow-chamfered joists and a stone fireplace of which the cornice is held by angel-corbels. A perfect example, this, of our domestic architecture at the close of the 15th century, and evidently a little chef-d'oeuvre of some resident or travelling carpenter. I am inclined to think he was the latter, one from Lewes or Chichester, who had perhaps finished a fine piece of screen or stall-work and sojourned in Alfriston for this chance job or for recruitment of health. The choice of subjects for his carving troubled him little; he was concerned solely with their effect, and we have here no doubt a mingling of his imagination and his memory of past work, with no evidence of any serious desire to select anything strictly a propos. Nevertheless, the carvings have some meaning, they are part of the body of mediaeval emblematic lore and they are proper subjects for our study and speculation. The little figure of the bold assailant attacking an amphisbaena, the serpent or dragon with a head on its tail, (which we are permitted to reproduce here) whether it be St. Michael or Guy of Warwick or any other doughty champion, is a spirited bit of carving.
A parallel to the Alfriston craftsman is to be found at Long Melford, where the artist who carved the fine Lady Chapel, in the Church, evidently turned his hand to the Bull Inn, another Trust House and another subject of Mr. Christy's pen. These houses are now in good hands, but they call for further record with careful architectural drawings. The photographic views are a good beginning and congratulations are due to the enlightened owners. May we suggest that they should find a way to restore the original arrangement of the ground floor, and also free the front of the building of its unsightly advertisement board. Such good wine needs no bush