THE CANTERBURY GROUP OF ARCADED GOTHIC EARLY MEDIEVAL CHESTS: A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL AND COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

This paper draws attention to an unrecognised group of six pin-hinged, clamped, early medieval chests with gothic arcading in East Kent, England. It provides dendrochronological dates for four of the chests and systematic evidence concerning their construction, decoration and ironwork, including the specific type of lock originally fitted. Comparisons are made with pin-hinged, clamped chests made in some other counties and abroad at roughly the same time. The carved façades contrast with the plain façades of the thirteenth-century chests in Westminster Abbey. The group has the earliest dendro-dated examples thus far of gothic arcading on English clamped chests as well as other distinctive features, suggesting that the chests are the product of a workshop that developed with a degree of independence from other workshops. Their likely origin in Canterbury and a hypothesis about their use are discussed, and topics are identified for future research. This paper aims to provide a solid one-county base for the comparative study of pin-hinged, clamped chests elsewhere in England.