ECCLESIASTICAL PLATE
The Chalice, Elizabethan forms, with cover for use as paten--The
destruction of silver plate at the Reformation--The Exeter style
of chalice--The sacramental flagon--The Communion Cup--Specimens
of patens.
In regard to sacred vessels in use in this country before the
Reformation it is noteworthy that in design they cling to a national
form and differ very considerably from those used in early mediæval
days or at the present time in the Roman Catholic Church.
Prior to the Reformation the plate found on the altar for the
celebration of the Holy Sacrament consisted of a chalice, a paten, two
cruets to contain wine and water for consecration, which were really
two ewers with lids of small size, and the pyx in which the Eucharist
was reserved.
The chalice consisted of three parts: the cup or bowl, the stem
which in its middle swelled out into a bulb called the knop, for the
convenience of holding it, and the foot.
The paten was a small salver slightly sunk in the middle like an
ordinary plate.
Henry VIII in his spoliation of the monasteries, their lands and their
gold and silver plate, set the pace which was continued under Edward
VI. No stone was left unturned to stamp out all traces of the old
religion. It is remarkable that so much has escaped the blind fury that
seized the reformers in their lust for destruction. Whole libraries
were destroyed; illuminated books were consigned to the flames as
the work of the devil. Stained glass windows, carved woodwork with
figures of saints, brasses with religious emblems, all fell beneath the
ruthless hand of the iconoclastic Puritan.
“At Sunbury we brake down ten mighty great angels in glass, at Barham
brake down the twelve apostles in the chancel, and six superstitious
pictures more there: and eight in the church, one a lamb with a cross
on the back: and digged down the steps and took up four superstitious
inscriptions in brass.” So writes one Dowsing, a fanatic, in a diary he
kept of his doings, where he and his myrmidons scoured a hundred and
fifty parishes. Bishop Hall of Norwich saved his windows by taking out
the heads of the figures.
With such religious fervour abroad it can well be imagined that the
altar vessels, the fine chalices and other ecclesiastical plate, came
under the ban that had been pronounced against relics of a Church
which, whatever may have been its dogmas, had always encouraged the
fine arts and employed the genius of the craftsmen in creating edifices
which stand among the noblest of man’s handiwork and in embellishing
them with decorations as spiritual as the brain of the artist could
conceive.
[Illustration: ELIZABETHAN CHALICE AND COVER.
Parcel-gilt. Inscription, “St. Martin’s in Exon.”
London hall-mark, 1573.
(_In possession of Parish of St. Martin’s, Exeter._)]
[Illustration: CHARLES I CHALICE AND COVER.
Silver-gilt. Inscription, “St. Petrox in Oxon.”
Exeter hall-mark, 1640.
(Marks illustrated p. 391.)
(_In possession of Parish of St. Petrock, Exeter._)]
It is not surprising to find the commissioners appointed by Edward VI
making as exhaustive an inquiry throughout the land as the valuers of
a modern Chancellor of the Exchequer. They seized all the plate in the
churches with the exception of chalices and patens, and these they
weeded out if they considered the parish too small to have more than
one or two. Hence it is rare to find pre-Reformation ecclesiastical
plate, even chalices and patens, because the Church authorities
preferred to melt it down and use the money for other purposes than to
have it confiscated.
In 1547 by 1 Edward VI it was enacted that communion in both kinds
should be administered to the laity. The old form of chalice and
paten remained for a time, as even the Reformation with all its fury
could not and did not wholly uproot all the most sacred and deeply
seated ritual in connexion with religious observances. The subject of
the change in the form of the chalice with its inverted cup and the
introduction of the severer form of the open communion cup and the
flagon, is a study in ecclesiastical and political history which cannot
be further pursued here.
In general it may be said that the old forms of chalice are not
frequently met with, and have been carefully guarded by religious
bodies, possibly having to be hidden. The examples now extant are
usually found in cathedral cities and in the custody of corporate
bodies or Church authorities. We are fortunate in being able to
reproduce illustrations of some fine Exeter examples exhibiting
exquisite symmetry and characteristic ornamentation.
The paten, it should be observed, was made to serve as a cover for
the communion cup, a style which appears to have been general in
Elizabeth’s day, and the old pre-Reformation paten was discarded by
ecclesiastical law.
In the illustration given (p. 67) of a chalice and cover this form is
seen. The specimen is silver-gilt of the style known as the Exeter
pattern. The bowl is conical in shape with engraved foliated ornament.
The knop is fluted and the foot is in similar style. The inscription
is “St. Petrox, Exon,” and the piece is still in the possession of the
parish of St. Petrock, Exeter. The maker is I. Ions, and the piece
bears the Exeter hall-mark for the year 1572, the year of the massacre
of St. Bartholomew.
The chalice and cover illustrated on the same page is another fine
example of the Exeter pattern, with inscription on cover “The Paryshe
of Trynitye in the yeare of our Lorde 1575.” The maker is I. Ions and
the Exeter date mark 1575. The marks of this piece are illustrated page
391.
Another Elizabethan chalice and cover bears the London hall-mark of
1573. It is parcel gilt, has a straight bowl with slight lip, and
engraved foliated bands. Its inscription is “St. Martin’s in Exon.”
This is illustrated on page 71 together with a Charles I chalice and
cover made by J. R. Radcliff and bearing the Exeter mark of 1640, the
date when Strafford was impeached and two years before the outbreak
of the Civil War. The illustration shows the mark on the middle of
the bowl, with the maker’s name in full between the two bands of
floriated decoration.
[Illustration: CHARLES II CUP.
Silver-gilt. London hall-mark, 1660. (Marks illustrated p. 369.)
(_By courtesy of Messrs. Elkington & Co._)]
[Illustration: WILLIAM III FLAGONS.
London hall-mark, 1692. Maker’s mark, I.Y.
(_In possession of Parish of St. Martin’s, Exeter._)]
An interesting Charles II cup, silver-gilt, is illustrated page 75. The
maker’s mark is H. G. and the date letter is a black-letter capital
~C~, indicating the year 1660. The illustration shows the position of
the marks and the irregular manner in which they were stamped at that
period. The marks are illustrated on page 369. Cups such as this have
sometimes had portions added to them, converting them into ewers with
curved spout and large handle. There is a piece among the corporation
plate at York which suggests such an alteration. In the days of Charles
II the puritanic form of the few pieces of plate then remaining
offended the new spirit of gaiety. Cromwell’s cavalry had stabled
their horses in cathedrals; with the Restoration, communion cups were
converted into vessels for less sacred use.
Illustrated on the same page are two William III flagons, with date
letter for 1692, and maker’s mark I. Y. These are in the possession
of the parish of St. Martin’s, Exeter. These flagons were wrought
in London in the fateful year when Marlborough was dismissed from
his office on suspicion of high treason, when Louis XIV espoused
the cause of the exiled James and prepared to invade England. By
the naval victory of La Hogue the supremacy of the seas was gained.
On land the French took Namur, but although William was defeated he
prevented the French from entering Brussels. All these pieces of news
filtered through to London in the days when the craftsman was patiently
hammering these flagons and twisting the handles and fashioning the
thumb-pieces. To-day to the curious and pensive mind the row of stamped
symbols recalls the England of William.
Examples of the patens later in use are shown on page 79. The two
Charles II pieces are on feet, and it will be seen that they are
ornamented with rope-pattern borders. They are inscribed “St. Martin’s
in Exeter.” The London date letter is for 1680, and the maker’s mark is
E. G. Between them stands a Queen Anne lavabo bowl with the Exeter mark
for 1702, the maker being John Elston.
A Queen Anne paten is illustrated beneath on the same page. The
Exeter date mark is for 1714, and the maker is Pentecost Symonds. The
illustration shows in what position the marks are placed, and they are
illustrated on page 391.
A remarkable communion cup and cover of small size is illustrated on
page 81. This is a George II specimen and is unique. It bears the
Exeter mark for 1729, and the maker is James Strong. The stem of this
cup is in baluster form of fine proportions. The cover is remarkable,
being intended, when removed, for use as a flat paten. In addition to
the usual central button it has four small additional feet. It was
intended for the use of the sick, hence its smaller size. Altogether
it is a most remarkable piece. It has an inscription which runs: “_Deo
Christo et Ecclesiae St. Martini Exon in usu infirmorum._” The marks on
it are given under the illustration.
[Illustration: CHARLES II PATENS.
London, 1680. Maker, E. G.
QUEEN ANNE LAVABO BOWL.
Exeter, 1702. Maker John Elston.
(_In possession of Parish of St. Martin’s, Exeter._)]
[Illustration: QUEEN ANNE PATEN.
Exeter hall-mark, 1714. Maker, Pentecost Symonds.
(Marks illustrated p. 391.)
(_By courtesy of Messrs. Ellett Lake & Son, Exeter._)]
[Illustration: SMALL COMMUNION CUP AND COVER. GEORGE II.
Exeter hall-mark, 1729. Maker, James Strong. (Marks are illustrated
above.)
(_In possession of Parish of St. Martin’s, Exeter._)]
III
THE MAZER
THE STANDING CUP
THE FLAGON
THE TANKARD
THE BEAKER
THE WINE CUP
THE PUNCH-BOWL