348 



Uotes on Cfoo pieces of (ffinglislj JfUtoebsl 



€mkoikt k ]) jwsfr&rir in % 

 Cjurejes of button Jjwtger anir pnlla&ingtott/ 



By W. H. St. John Hope. 



3§8gkHE piece of medieval embroidery preserved as a desk- 



| hanging in Sutton Benger Church belongs to a class of 

 which, though far from common, more examples exist than is 

 usually supposed. 



Although the sacrilegious rapacity of Edward VI. and his Privy 

 Council, during the age of robbery in the middle of the 16th 

 century, spared many a cope and suit of vestments, the general 

 spoliation of Church goods, as well as the subsequent ascendancy 

 of the Puritan faction, made no provision for the replacement of 

 such vestments as they wore out or got shabby, for there can be 

 little doubt that in many places they continued to be worn. Copes 

 chasubles, and other vestments, were accordingly converted into 

 altar hangings, pulpit covers, herse cloths, or other uses, and in this 

 manner many a beautiful piece of medieval embroidery has been 

 preserved to our time. 



The piece of work at Sutton Benger in its present state measures 

 5ft. l^in. in length by 2ft. 4in. in width, and is composed of ten 

 vertical strips of embroidery sewn side by side. Eight of the 

 strips are severally made up of three panels, each representing a 

 saint or prophet standing beneath a canopy. But the strips thus 

 formed were found too long for their appointed j)lace, so the upper 

 panel has in every case been cut in two, and the pieces sewn on at 

 the ends so as to make two more strips. This mutilation has 



1 These notes are also printed in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries 

 (Dec. 8th } 1898) . 



