Our Gothic churches are usually decorated with elaborate carved stonework and woodwork, but some of the most interesting examples of the medieval woodcarver’s art are hidden under the seats. in the choir (or quire) where the monks held their daily services. The monks had to remain standing during services so, to help the elderly and infirm brethren, little corbel- like shelves were created under flip-up seats so they could lean back and sit a little while standing up (see next page). These were called ‘misericords’ which comes from the Latin misericordia meaning pity, sympathy or mercy.
The misericord, or ‘mercy seat’, is like a narrow shelf, supported by a corbel-like structure on the underside, which is frequently decorated with grotesque, amusing, and even quite rude figures. The subjects are not religious as it would have been unthinkable to sit your backside on a holy object, so secular subjects were used illustrating scenes from medieval life, representations of popular tales, or monstrous beasts. Freed from the constraints of religious propriety, the carvers could have a bit of fun.
I have based this project on a misericord in Christchurch Priory, Dorset, where there are many fine examples. It shows the shelf being supported by a demon with pointed ears, sharp claws, bulging eyes and a vicious-looking mouth. Laid across its back is a feature called a ‘bale’ – a smooth cylinder representing a roll of woollen cloth with a finely inscribed pattern. English misericords, unlike Continental ones, usually have a curly pattern at each end, of ten with supporting figures. This one has an acanthus pattern with diaper hatching, suggesting it is a fairly late example from the 1500s. I have dispensed with the rest of the seat board outside the carved area as it is superfluous. Unless you have a frequent need to sit while standing up, I suggest you use this misericord as a wall-mounted shelf.
Medieval woodcarvings were nearly always in oak (Quercus robur) and to recreate the medieval appearance I have darkened the oak by the traditional practice of fuming with ammonia. The process is easy, as shown in step 22, and it looks more natural than woodstain, but if you really don’t fancy fuming you can get somewhere near a natural aged colour with a dark oak woodstain.
Things you will need
Tools:
No.3, 10 and 20mm fishtail gouge
No.9, 20mm
No.3, 10mm
No.8, 8mm
No.5, 3, 5 and 7mm
No.9, 16mm curved gouge
No.5, 13mm curved gouge
10mm short bent gouge
10mm skewed spoon gouges L&R
12mm back bent gouge
2 and 6mm straight V-tool
3, 6, 15 and 20mm flat chisel
10mm skew chisel
Jigsaw
Bandsaw
Materials:
Oak (Quercus robur) 115 x 115 x 410mm
Household ammonia (for fuming)
Dark brown wax polish
How a misericord works
When the occupant of the choir stall is fully seated, the main seat is folded down with the misericord hidden underneath. When the occupant stands up during services, the main seat hinges upright setting the narrow shelf of the misericord at a height where the bottom can rest on it.
Preparations
1. Get a piece of oak (Quercusrobur) 115x 115x 410mm. Make a full-size copy of the drawing and trace the patterns on to the relevant faces of the block with carbon paper. Also make tracings on to OHP transparency fi lm to help you position the elements as you carve away the pattern2. Use a bandsaw if you have one to cut out the shape of the top shelf through the full depth of the block. If you don’t have a bandsaw, make several vertical cuts back to the line of the shelf, then chisel away the surplus wood3. With the outlines of the end profile traced on to the back of the block, you can cut round the ends. Use a jigsaw for the thinner edges, then resort to cutting back to the line with handsaws, gouges, a rasp, and finally spokeshaves (don’t use the bandsaw as the unsupported ends may jam it)
Roughing out
4. Use the transparencies to redraw pattern detail that has been sawn away. Start the roughing out by chiselling away the surplus wood at the ends of the bale and the demon’s hands. Use a deep gouge to ‘bost’ down vertically, a slice at a time to remove the bulk, then straighten up the edges in line with the pattern. Work down to about 40mm from the back edge at this stage. This is hard and heavy work in the solid oak5. Now, leaving the head and ears untouched, and using the underneath pattern for guidance, chisel away the surplus wood in front of the demon’s arms and the bale6. Use a tenon saw, chisels and gouges to cut away surplus wood under the top shelf. Use callipers to check the thickness is an even 18mm. Now carefully rough out the shape of the head with the ears sloping back and the mouth facing downwards. Keep checking the positions with the transparency, and don’t remove wood you may need later7. With access now a bit easier, reduce the thickness from the back of the block to the front of the acanthus to 35mm. Mark a line 18mm from the back along the bottom of the block and chisel out a ‘floor’ between the acanthus, the bale and the arms8. With the ‘floor’ level set, now you can rough out the shape of the arms and shoulders of the demon, shape the bale, and reposition the ears as necessary
Top Tip
Roughing out a three-dimensional carving in solid oak is hard and time- consuming work. It can be a bit dispiriting if you just want to get on with the detail carving, but it is an essential foundation for the detail and you have to learn to love it just as much. Think of it as a physical workout that will build your muscles and keep you fi t, and will entitle you to eat more cake afterwards.
9. Now the roughing out is complete, this is a good time to fit your hanging fixings. I used slotted mirror plates rebated into the back that can be hooked over screws in the wall. You can then hang the carving up frequently to check how it looks at shelf height as you proceed
Carving the detail
10. With everything positioned in roughly the right place, we can now proceed to the detail carving, starting with the top shelf. Make sure the underside of the shelf is smooth and of uniform thickness. Draw the position of the 3mm cove on the underside, set back 10mm from the front edge, and cut a 3mm rebate. Note how the cove turns inwards at the end of the straight section. Use moulding planes if you have them, and suitable gouges, to shape the 15mm bullnose moulding and the 3mm cove along the straight front edge11. The ends of the shelf get thinner as they merge into the acanthus swirls. Shape the underside into the thinner part and use a back bent gouge to mould the bullnose into the swirls12. Now carve the detail of the acanthus. Use a V-tool and shallow gouges to create elegant, swirling lines that flow from the top and underside to the tips of the leaves. Although the swirl is fairly shallow, try to make it look lively13. Faces are always difficult, even when they are meant to look hideous. The tendency is to carve too flat, so force yourself to cut back deeply and be bold with the features. The eyes are deep set and have heavy, overhanging brows, so cut away deeply beneath them. The nose, by contrast, is shallow, but note the crease below the brow14. Check the position of the mouth against the transparency, then carve the lips with a sharp crease in the corners. As you hollow the inside of the mouth with a spoon gouge, leave two rudimentary teeth in the upper jaw. Keep hanging the carving up at head height to check the look of it before moving on15. Use the spoon gouge again to hollow the ears to their final shape. Excavate above and below them to make them look slightly detached from the shelf and bale16. Finish the head by shaping the area around the throat, neck and shoulders, and slightly undercut the edge where the head lays on the bale. Use an 8mm, No.8 gouge to cut a couple of grooves under the eyes and across the cheeks to make the creature look more menacing
Top Tip
When working on a symmetrical carving, carve the same elements on both sides together before moving on to the next section. Carving a mirror image in opposite directions can be surprisingly challenging. Try to make the two sides look balanced, if not entirely identical.
17. Now carve the shoulders and arms. The creature must appear to be supporting the bale on its back as well as pushing its head upwards to support the shelf. Try to make it look muscular and monstrous with folds of thick, leathery skin and a couple of rings round each wrist18. Finish the arms by carving the reptilian ‘hands’ with their pointed claws. Slightly undercut around the body, arms and claws so they all appear detached from the ‘back board’19. Now add the surface detail to the bale of woollen cloth. Scrape the bale surface to a smooth finish, and add the ‘bindings’ to the projections at the end. Draw on the pattern that represents the design on the cloth lightly with a fine pencil. As the pattern is flat on the cloth, the lines are simply ‘pricked in’ using various gouges to fi t the particular curves. Rub or scrape out the pencil lines afterwards20. Finally, carve the diaper cross-hatching at each end using a 2mm V-tool, with the lines about 6mm apart. Also use a straight chisel held vertically to sharpen the definition at the bottom of the V. Use a punch or a nail to punch the small holes in the middle of each of the ‘diamonds’21a. The carving phase is now finished. Photos 21a to 21c show the finished carving from the front, underneath and side. Use these for reference when carving. If you want to leave it in its new oak colour you just need to polish it, but if you want to go for the full medieval Gothic, leave it unpolished for now and start fuming21b.21c.
Fuming with ammonia
22. To darken the oak by fuming (see box), get a plastic tub and place the carving in it, raised on wooden supports. Put about 50-80ml of household ammonia (obtainable from hardware stores) in a hallow dish and seal the tub. Follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions, work in a well-ventilated place, stand back at arm’s length, and wear eye protection. Leave it until the oak darkens to a pleasing dark brown – about 6-12 hours depending on the temperature, the concentration of ammonia and the amount of tannin in the oak. When you open the tub afterwards, stand back and let the fumes clear before taking the carving out
Fuming oak
New oak is pale, but it darkens to a deep brown after centuries of exposure to the air. Placing new oak in ammonia fumes replicates nature’s ageing process at the rate of about a century an hour. The ammonia acts on the tannins found in the heartwood -but sapwood (the young outer layer of wood under the bark) has no tannins and will stay pale, so make sure your oak is ‘all heart’.
23. With a coat of a dark wax polish, and buffed up to a soft sheen, the finished carving now looks like a relic from the Middle Ages. By fixing it on the wall at a high-level you can get a good view of the demon lurking under the shelf
A ‘beautiful’ project. Thank you for the detailed explanation of its many aspects.
I am surprised that you did not warn of the dangers of using Ammonia – which can burn one’s nose, throat and lung tissues. The well ventilated space should preferably be in the open air/outdoors and one should be up wind of the box when removing the lid. Dispersal of fumes from inside the box, before attempting to remove the carving, is to be encouraged.
As a novice in the use of Oak, I would be interested to know how one differentiates sap and heart wood (to ensure that the fuming will be effective).
I thank you for sharing this project.
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One Response
A ‘beautiful’ project. Thank you for the detailed explanation of its many aspects.
I am surprised that you did not warn of the dangers of using Ammonia – which can burn one’s nose, throat and lung tissues. The well ventilated space should preferably be in the open air/outdoors and one should be up wind of the box when removing the lid. Dispersal of fumes from inside the box, before attempting to remove the carving, is to be encouraged.
As a novice in the use of Oak, I would be interested to know how one differentiates sap and heart wood (to ensure that the fuming will be effective).
I thank you for sharing this project.