Our sister organisation, the Derbyshire Record Society (DRS) is publishing a new book Church Goods in Derbyshire 1552-1553, edited by Richard Clark
About the book
The book is concerned with the national seizure of church goods in 1553, one of the major dispossession of ecclesiastical assets during the English Reformation. It contains the surviving documents relating to their confiscation in Derbyshire, including the inventories of church goods made in 1552 in preparation for their seizure. The book also contains the indentures made in May 1553 about the retention by parishes of vessels for the administration of Holy Communion and of their bells, and the returns made from Derbyshire and handed over to government officials in Westminster. The final item in the volume is a letter from the borough of Derby to the Privy Council in 1553 about its failure to report to it about its survey of church goods there in 1552.
Details of the goods itemised in the Derbyshire inventories and indentures have been available in print for over a century and a half, but the documents, appearing here, have never been printed in full. They have previously been exploited for their interest concerning surviving church furnishings and ornaments in Derbyshire before their final seizure by Edward VI’s government. However, without a full edition of the documents presented here a review of their administrative and political significance as well as detailed and critical consideration of their contents has not previously been possible. This volume aims to rectify these omissions as well as to provide a full critical apparatus to set these documents and their contents.
Anyone is welcome to join the DRS for the launch on Saturday 16 July 2.30pm, with talk by the editor at the Imperial Rooms, Imperial Road, Matlock, DE4 3NL.
The book will be available to purchase on the day for £30 (£20 for Record Society members). If you are unable to join the DRS on the , but 16th, but would like to order a copy of the book, this can be done online or by printing and completed the attached order form.