. Devon notes and queries. e quaint lettering of the age :— VIRTVS POST FVNERA same arms are repeated in stained glass in thehall below, and appear to be of coeval workmanship, whilstthe other window of the hall contains the achievement of SirWilliam Courtenay, the eighth of that name, who died in1762. This Sir William was great-grandson of the enter-tainer of the Prince of Orange, and married in 1741 Frances,daughter of Heneage Finch, Earl of Aylesford.* The balustrade of the quadrangular staircase of carvedoak is a perfect gem of the woodwork of the period, its verynumerous rosette
. Devon notes and queries. e quaint lettering of the age :— VIRTVS POST FVNERA same arms are repeated in stained glass in thehall below, and appear to be of coeval workmanship, whilstthe other window of the hall contains the achievement of SirWilliam Courtenay, the eighth of that name, who died in1762. This Sir William was great-grandson of the enter-tainer of the Prince of Orange, and married in 1741 Frances,daughter of Heneage Finch, Earl of Aylesford.* The balustrade of the quadrangular staircase of carvedoak is a perfect gem of the woodwork of the period, its verynumerous rosettes and ornaments being all cut in relief on thesolid wood. The staircase window on the left is glazed with fragments ofmodern coloured glass comprising two small panels some,what older containing the figure of St. Mark holding the scroll *By a strange mischance the tinctures of the charges now appear tobe reversed on the Finch impalement, the black paint having almostentirely peeled off the glass from the heat of the Ford House: Arms of Sir William Courtenay, 1762, From a Window in the Hall. t Devon Notes and Queries. 39 of his gospel, and a half length figure of St. Peter with thekeys, both drawn in the sleepy quasi-classic style of art of acentury ago. This glass was inserted by the late tenant soonafter he took possession. The other rooms and staircases tothe rear of the house call for no remark save the little apart-ment known as the black room on the second landing, towhich the singular tradition attaches that its doors mustalways be kept open after nightfall. This room and thestaircase still retain their original oak flooring, and the viewpresented to the eye from the door into the study, looking upthe stairs, is precisely the same as King Charles gazed upon280 years ago. From the black room a short flight of fivesteps leads up to his bedroom, the bottom stair being made toslide outwards, and a trap door in the floor covers a receptaclein three divisions, both
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