INTRODUCTION

The plank-and-muntin screen, separating the principal ground-floor rooms, is a characteristic feature of the late medieval West Country house. Although many examples have survived, only a few preserve their painted decoration, since most have been stripped to the bare oak below, or retain only fragmentary traces of painted ornament. This paper records a remarkable addition to the small canon of decorated screens, found at Marker's Cottage, Broadclyst. The scheme dates from c. 1520–50 and displays a combination of religious and secular themes which appears to be unique in a vernacular context in the West Country.

The screen was discovered when Marker's was examined in the course of the Vernacular Buildings Survey set up by the Devon Region of the National Trust in 1985. The survey reflected a national decision to evaluate historically the small buildings held by the Trust, following criticism of the treatment of some of its cottages in which important features had not been recognized. Conducted under the auspices of the Manpower Services Commission and led by Gwynneth Guy, the scheme recorded, by survey and documentary research, every farmstead and cottage owned by the Trust in the county. In each case ground- and first-floor plans were measured and drawn; the materials used and external and internal features were noted, and photographs taken.