16th Century Chalice Saved for Cathedral

12/06/2009

Quick action by Cathedral's Friends secures unique 16th century artefact

The Matthew Chalice and Paten

On Friday 8th May, the Curator of the Bowes Museum alerted the Librarian of Durham Cathedral to the fact that a pewter chalice that had belonged to a Bishop of Durham in the 16th Century was to be auctioned in Edinburgh the following day. It was quickly discovered, via the web, that the chalice would be the first item to be auctioned at 11.00am on Saturday morning. Contact was made with the auction house at 9.30am to check on how realistic the estimate was and crucially that a telephone bidding system was available. The Honorary Treasurer of the Friends of the Cathedral, Dr. Brian Crosby was thus able to bid from home and this important treasure was secured for the Cathedral by the Friends all within less than twenty four hours.

The chalice is 17cm high, in pewter, with a lid that is obviously the matching paten. It is inscribed

TOBIAS MATTHEW
DURHAM

Tobias Matthew was Dean of Durham from 1583 to 1595. He became Bishop of Durham in 1595 where he stayed until 1606 when he was promoted to be Archbishop of York.

The inscription is rather crude compared with the decoration on the chalice. Apart from the inscription, nothing is known of the history of the vessel or indeed its precise age.

"This chalice is not some grand, highly decorated piece made from precious metal," explains Anne Heywood, the Cathedral's Chapter Steward, " but one which could very easily have been for Tobias Matthew's personal or domestic use. The value to us is its history and close links with the Cathedral. There is something very special about a chalice and paten which was in use four centuries ago and has now been returned 'home'."

The Chalice was formally presented to the Dean at the Friends' Festival on 6 June.

This is the third time in the last five years that the Friends have been able to play a key role in enabling the Cathedral to re-acquire a treasure formerly in its possession in much earlier times. First we paid fifty percent of the cost of acquiring a book belonging to Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall (1529-1559). Shortly afterwards the Friends' quick initial commitment of funds was instrumental in acquiring a 13th Century Bible that had been in the Monastic Library for three hundred years up to the dissolution of the Monastery. Now we have acquired Tobias Matthew's 16th century chalice.

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