Westminster Abbey, London: Tree-Ring Dating of the Chests and Fittings
Author(s): Dr Martin Bridge, Daniel Miles
Eight chests, two groups of panels, and an armoire, many of which had been dated by Dr John Fletcher in the 1970s, were analysed, and all objects were successfully dated. The earliest items were reused panels forming a shelf or canopy in the Pyx Chamber, which were felled in AD 1162–94, and the Long Chest in the Muniment Room, which produced a felling date range of AD 1167–99. Four chests were dated to the thirteenth century: the hutch-type chest in the Lapidarium (AD 1237–69), the Large Chest in the Muniment Room (AD 1239–71), the Lesser Treaty Chest in the Pyx Chamber (AD 1271–87), and the Deep Chest in the Muniment Room (AD 1274–90). Although the twelfth-century timbers were of local origin, the Large Chest was made from both English and German boards, and possible matches with German chronologies suggest that slower-grown timbers in the hutch-type chest were also probably imported. This suggests that timber supplies went through a transition during the reign of Henry III (1216–72). By the time of Edward I (1272–1306), imports were more common, and both the Lesser Treaty Chest and the Deep Chest were made entirely of German timber. The remaining objects, of Baltic oak, dated to the fourteenth or early fifteenth century: the Cope Chest (c AD 1375–1400) and the Greater Treaty Chest (AD 1379–95) in the Pyx Chamber, the Panelled Chest in the Lapidarium (AD 1405–21), the Richard II Cupboard in the Muniment Room (AD 1377–93), and the partition panel next to the Muniment Room partition (AD 1348–64).
- Report Number:
- 3/2008
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 93
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Furniture
