St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Gosberton
How old is the Parish Chest?
Walter Jenkinson Kaye, in his book ‘A Brief History of the Church and Parish of Gosberton’ (1897) described the Parish Chest of being of venerable appearance and he records that it was, interestingly, painted white at that time. Today the Chest is stripped back to wood and varnished. Its age is uncertain, but it certainly looks centuries old.
Why does it have locks?
Parish Chests were where the church’s valuables used to be stored under lock and key. Typically, they contained the Parish Registers, alms for the poor, and church silverware.
No wonder, then, that Parish Chests were made to be theft-proof. The one here in Gosberton has a rounded lid, bound with thick, heavy iron bands and is secured with three locks (which are still in situ).
But why three locks, and not just one?
In the 1550s, during the Elizabethan reforms of the church, it was mandated in England, Wales, and Ireland that all parish churches should acquire a chest with a hole in the top for alms and three locks. Each church set its own budget and hired its own craftsmen, with the result that every strongbox is unique. The three locks were to ensure that the strongbox was never opened by only one person. The clergyman had the key to one lock, the church warden had the key to another and a trusted member of the community had the third. For the chest to be opened all three had to be present with their keys. A number of decades later the requirement was added that the strongbox had to be reinforced with strips of metal.
Gosberton’s parish chest – like other churches – now lies empty and is no more than an ornamental curio.
