The St. Mary’s, Climping and Chichester Cathedral medieval chests: a dendrochronological and comparative study

This article provides a detailed description of two medieval chests in Chichester Cathedral Treasury of a rare type: pin-hinged, clamped chests. Both chests have long attracted admiration and have been given various dates, from 1200 to 1300–1350. Their construction and decoration is compared with other chests of the same type in Sussex and Kent. This brings out the contrast between the chests in the two counties, the diversity of the Sussex chests and the relative similarity of the Kent chests. The Sussex group are either plain or have prominent chip-carved roundels, whereas those in Kent have incised gothic arcading and very small roundels. Dendrochronological analysis dates the timber of the Chichester Cathedral chest earlier (1256–88) than the Climping chest (early 14th century), contrary to what has often been thought. It is suggested that these dates make it unlikely that the two chests are ‘Crusader chests’ and that the depth of the Chichester Cathedral chest makes it likely to have been for vestments.