William Dyke

“ It is much to be regretted that these interesting specimens of medieval art were not spared from destruction, that when others are laid bare we might come to satisfactory conclusions as to the mode in which churches were decorated, and our fathers instructed when books were scarce and learning almost confined to the cloister and the palace. Several churches in Oxfordshire were similarly enriched, of which considerable portions remain at Cassington, and the colours are seen through the whitewash at Cuddesden, Great Milton, and Dorchester. ”

“ Our Lord is represented kneeling, habited in a white cope and a red under garment; St. Peter, with one hand raised, as if in the act of expostulating for this act of humiliation in his Master.
On the same side was The Last Supper. Our Lord occupying the centre of the table, sits in an erect posture. This was the conventional mode, in which the old painters and sculptors represented the posture at the Feast of the Passover. ”

“ Our Lord, holding a cross with banner attached, preaches to "the spirits in prison," who are standing in the jaws of death. He tramples on a monster, whose head is bent down to the ground, with one paw chained and the other holding a triple hook. One of the pieces of sculpture in the choir of Mont St. Michel has a little demon in a similar position to the one winding a horn above the open jaw.
The accompanying sketches, by Mr. Philip De la Motte, will convey a more accurate notion of these decorations than my words. The drawings are defective only in one point, in not giving the colours. ”