Two late 13th century chests in St Mary's church, Earl Stonham.
One is a fairly standard type for the period, hewn from a single piece of timber. The other is quite a rare example for its time, being ornamented.
" the front is formed with very wide upright styles fixed flush to the centre and acting as huge clamps. The tenons of the central panel are secured in the mortises of these vertical clamps by large wooden pegs, which are here allowed to project, and are finished off as ornamental features. The entire front is fixed to the sides with heavy wrought-iron nails. This chest is rare, for its date, in being ornamented with roundrls and geometrical devices in chip-carving. As a rule, thirteenth-century chests are plain, and tracery was never applied. This Earl Stonham chest is supported on large runners, kept well away from the ends to minimise any tendency to sagging of the bottom."
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The decorated chest was tested in 2006 to verify its age - An article in the
Church Times writes:
"CHURCH CHESTS are being dated by specialists from Oxford as part of a project to put a more precise age on medieval Suffolk treasures,
The project is being undertaken for David Sherlock by a team from the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory, who last year dated Britain’s oldest door, a Saxon door at Westminster Abbey. They have support from the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History.
The tests, conducted by Dr Martin Bridge, involve taking small samples from the chests, and measuring the rings against samples that have already been dated.
Mr Sherlock said: “Church chests are almost the only remaining movable class of objects still to be found in parish churches that date to the Middle Ages. Many of the chests are very large, making them difficult to move. So they can still serve their original function as strong boxes for the preservation of church valuables against the ravages of theft and time.”
John Vince, who has studied church chests in Suffolk for many years, said: “The chest at Earl Stonham (near Stowmarket) is unusual in that it is larger than most chests; it could have started life in an important house. A lot of chests began life as domestic pieces of furniture.”
James Halsall, secretary of the diocesan advisory committee in St Edmundsbury & Ipswich diocese, said: “Suffolk’s churches contain many treasures from the past. This mixture of modern science and ancient wood is truly fascinating.”
Last week, tests were conducted on chests at Mendlesham, near Stowmarket, and at Chevington, near Bury St Edmunds.
The dating is likely to be around the 13th-14th centuries."
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