Church plate, 17th Century

St. Mary's 17th Century church plate comprises two silver flagons, used to hold the Communion wine, an alms dish and a silver chalice. The flagons were presented to St. Mary’s Church by the daughters of Sir Charles Pleydell of Midgehall, Lydiard Tregoze. The North Aisle of St. Mary’s was reserved for the Pleydell family and their retainers. Monuments to the family survive in the building to this day.

Deborah’s Flagon Deborah Pleydell (d1695) presented the flagon and an alms dish to St. Mary’s Church in 1670.  She had married a Dr Culme, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin and returned to live in Midgehall following his ejection from the position in 1649. Deborah was warmly regarded, the rector recorded her death with the words ‘the most incomparable Deborah Culme’

Lady Elizabeth’s Flagon

The larger of the two flagons was donated by Lady Elizabeth Newcomen (d1669) and like her sister’s gift, it is inscribed and decorated with a Coat of Arms

Chalice (Communion cup), 1649 This chalice, the earliest surviving example of silver plate from Lydiard Tregoze, was produced during the English Civil War period. It is inscribed with the St. John family coat of arms including their familiar emblem of a falcon.

The silver was displayed as part of an exhibition entitled 'Angels, Buckets and Bells'; a celebration of St. Mary's Lydiard Tregoze, at Swindon Museum & Art Gallery, Jan - March 2020.