Conservation and Restoration of Medieval Church Chests.
By Rachel Sycamore BA (Hons.) MRes.
Chests were very important forms of medieval furniture, many still extant in churches today. They were heavy immovable objects intended to keep their contents dry and secure from thieves and vermin.
Rachel Sycamore, a local furniture restorer and conservator, and Furniture Advisor to the Hereford Diocese, has recorded and conserved many church chests in Herefordshire and the surrounding counties. Her talk provides an insight into what church chests were used for, the different types of church chest, how many survive in Herefordshire and what they meant to people in medieval society. She also discusses examples of important church chests local to Ledbury.