History

The history of the mortuary chests predates the chests themselves. The human remains contained within each chest can be traced to the 7th-12th centuries. Many of the remains are believed to have been originally buried in the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster, which stood on the site adjacent to the present cathedral. The remains have been traditionally ascribed to early medieval royals and bishops. The names given in Latin on the sides of the six existing chests are: Cynegils, Cynewulf, Ecgbert, Aethelwulf, Eadred, Edmund, Cnut, William Rufus, Bishop Wine, Bishop Alwine, and Queen Emma. However, it is likely the remains of other early medieval individuals not listed are also contained within the chests.

Image: Hampshire Records Office DC/E4/4 (Baigent papers).

In 1093, or shortly afterwards, the remains of important bishops and royals were exhumed from their original graves in the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster and transferred to the new cathedral. It is not known where these remains were initially positioned, but in 1158, the then Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, is recorded as having the bones removed from their original location (“ab indecenti loco” – commonly translated as “an unseemly place”) to near the high altar.

In the 16th century, a new set of painted wooden chests was created to house the bones. These chests are traditionally believed to have been commissioned by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester between 1501-1528. With the exception of two later chests created in 1662, these are the chests visible today on the top of the Cathedral’s Presbytery walls.

Image: Hampshire Records Office DC/E4/4 (Baigent papers).

The mortuary chests suffered a terrible blow in 1642 when Oliver Cromwell’s troops ransacked Winchester Cathedral. An account of the event, published several decades afterwards, describes how soldiers “threw down the Chests, wherein were deposited the bones of the Bishops, the like they did to the bones of William Rufus, of Queen Emma, of Hardecanutus, and […] all the rest of the West Saxon Kings” (Mercurius Rusticus, 1685).

Several chests were destroyed and lost completely, their contents scattered across the pavement of the Cathedral. Four chests survived. But the situation worsened. Having smashed all of the windows they could reach, the soldiers were then reported to have thrown bones at those windows they could not “reach with their swords, muskets or rests”.

In 1662, two new chests were created to replace some of the chests which had been lost. Human remains were gathered and put back into the chests, but it is impossible to know for sure how many bones were lost. The bones which were retained were mixed within the chests, so that it was harder to separate the remains of one person from another.

Interest in the mortuary chests continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1790s, Edmund Cartwright and Henry Howard, then army officers stationed in Winchester, obtained permission to open the chests and examine the contents.

In the 1870s, the chests were opened again – this time, by Francis Joseph Baigent, a local antiquarian. Baigent made careful notes and sketches of the chests and their contents, which reflect an enduring fascination with these beautiful and mysterious objects.

Today, members of the Mortuary Chests Research Project continue to study the chests and their contents. The excellent preservation of the bones inside the chests has enabled scientists access to new data and sources of information which are transforming what was known previously.

Image: Hampshire Records Office DC/E4/4 (Baigent papers).