The Lacock Cup is a late

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

standing-cup. It was made for secular use, which makes it a rare survival, but was early in its life given to

St Cyriac's Church St Cyriac's Church is a 14th-century Church of England church, located in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire. History The Norman architecture base to the current church, funded jointly by local landowners Edward of Salisbury of Lacock and William ...

Lacock Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trus ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, who used it as a

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

. It is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, where it is usually on display.

History

The cup dates from the mid-15th century, and has been described as "one of the most significant pieces of secular English medieval silver". Most such

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

ing cups have been destroyed, or were altered due to changing fashion. However, the Lacock Cup was donated to the church soon after creation, and so it has survived in its original condition. The cup's function changed after the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, as new religious practices meant that a larger communion cup was required to hold sufficient wine for the whole congregation, in a time when strict laws prohibited the use of religious images. Since 1962, it has been on display at the

Sale

In 2009, with mounting expenditure on maintaining and restoring the church's structure, the Lacock Parochial Church Council (LPCC) had the cup valued, with experts estimating the value at £1.8 million. The LPCC then applied for a faculty (licence) to sell the cup, with the British Museum interested in changing the loan into a purchase agreement. Local resident Geoffrey Fox legally challenged the sale, but at a

consistory court A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the ...

in December 2013, the Reverend Justin Gau said he was satisfied the sale circumstances were justified.

Joint purchase

On 24 December 2013, sale was completed to a joint bid from the British Museum and the

Wiltshire Museum The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natu ...

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

, for a sum of £1.3 million, raised through private donation as well as grant funds from the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

and The Art Fund. As part of the sale agreement, two replicas will be made: one for liturgical use at the church; one to go on display at the Wiltshire Museum, when the original is not on display.

References

{{reflist Chalices Silver objects History of Wiltshire Medieval European objects in the British Museum Medieval European metalwork objects