The medieval treasure house, consisting of sacristy, vestry and treasure rooms was the depository for the ecclesiastical treasure belonging to a church, holy vessels, vestments, altar hangings, candlesticks and priceless liturgical books and reliquaries. It was carefully designed to convey the message of its status and function.
A book devoted to these medieval museums which housed such precious materials is long overdue. Ironically, the interest in the objects that they conserved has often resulted in ecclesiastical treasure being removed to new museums, leaving their former places of protection in need of protection themselves.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Introduction
1 The Treasure House, Its Chambers and Function
1Location and Function
2 Precedents of English Treasure Houses
1Treasure Houses of the Bible
3 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries,
Part 1
1Early Norman Benedictine Sacristies and Treasure Rooms
2Cistercian Sacristies and Treasure Rooms
4 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries,
Part 2
1Ely
2Canterbury
5 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries,
Part 3
1The Treasury at Winchester Cathedral
2The Vestiarium at Canterbury Cathedral
6 Treasure Houses of Secular Canons, Part 1
1Old Sarum, St Osmunds Church
2Old Sarum, Bishop Rogers Church
3Hereford Cathedral
4The Treasure House of Ripon Minster
5The Treasure House of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim
6The Plans and Forms of the Treasure Houses of Ripon Minster and Trondheim
Cathedral
7 Treasure Houses of Secular Canons, Part 2
1Salisbury
2The Treasure House of the Cathedral of Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, Northern
France
3Beverley Minster
4Wells Cathedral
8 The Treasure Chambers of Westminster Abbey, 124569
1The Treasure of Westminster Abbey
2The 11th-Century Abbey and Church (Begun 1042)
3Henry IIIs Abbey Church at Westminster
4Treasure Chamber 1: St Faiths Chapel, the Sacristy of Henry IIIs Church
5Treasure Room 2: the
Chapter House Crypt
6Treasure Room 3: the Muniment Room
7Treasure Room 4: the Sacristaria
9 The Treasure Houses of Secular Canons at Lichfield, Lincoln, and Exeter
Cathedrals, c.12501300
1Lichfield Cathedral Treasure House
2Lincoln Cathedral Treasure House
3The Treasure Houses of Exeter Cathedral
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Lesley Milner, M.A. PhD. F.S.A. gained her Ph.D. at the Courtauld Institute, University of London 2015. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Since 2016 she has published in the Antiquaries Journal, the Journal of the British Archaeological Association and the Burlington Magazine.
