The All Saints’ vinegar bible and a right basket case………………
All Saints church is the proud owner of one of the historic “vinegar” bibles published by John Baskett in 1717 and now held in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library. You can read about John Baskett and his bibles here, and hence “basket case”. This particular issue was something special, but it contained multiple errors, one of which was the well-known parable of the vineyard in Luke 20 appearing as “vinegar”. It became something of a laughing stock – a “baskett-ful of errors”. See the bible and vinegar below.
Church plate
As well as the chalice and paten currently in use for administering holy communion, the church owns three pieces of older more valuable church plate which, since 1993, are held in the treasury of Canterbury Cathedral. The images are copyright and reproduced courtesy of the Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.
Chalice and paten
This is silver gilt with a plain cylindrical bowl, slightly flared at the rim on a knopped stem and circular domed base. This is dated Charles 1 1637 with the maker mark RW marked under the rim. It is inscribed on the base ‘The Gift of Capt. Robt. Moyle of Buckwell Esq. to ye Church of Boughton Aluph’. There is a paten cover of silver gilt for the chalice 6.5in. in diameter also dated Charles 1 1637 with the same maker mark RW and similarly inscribed on the base.
Flagon
This is silver gilt with a plain cylindrical body slightly tapering and on a domed foot with a flanged rim, slightly domed lid with a pierced thumbpiece, scroll handle. It is 11.5in. high and dated Commonwealth London 1657. It is inscribed on the base ‘The Gift of Mrs Priscilla Moyle to the Church of Boughton Aluph. It is also inscribed under the lid ‘Boughton Aluph Plate’.
Captain Robert Moyle of Buckwell was a great-great-grandson of Walter Moyle of Buckwell whose brother, Sir Thomas Moyle, possessed Eastwell Park. The donor died on 23 February 1639-40, aged 43. His widow Priscilla, the donor of the Flagon, was the daughter of Dr. Fotherby, Dean of Canterbury. She also gave one of the church bells that hung in the tower of St. Mary Eastwell.
ALSO a highly decorated...
Flagon from St. Mary’s church, Eastwell
This is in silver gilt with a slightly tapering cylindrical body, on a wide domed base, a domed lid with a scroll thumbpiece and scroll handle with acanthus leaf ornament. It is 14.5in. high. The whole was embossed in the Victorian Period with cherubs, leaf scrolls and chased, engraved with the Holy Monogram ‘En Soleil’. It is dated Queen Anne 1712 London, Maker Edmund Pearce and is fully marked under the rim, on the lid and with the makers mark on the handle. There is an inscription on the base: Eastwell Church 1823.
