Booke of Common Prayer (Spetchley Bindings)
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1634
This embroidered bookbinding encases a 1634 London printing of the Booke of Common Prayer and the Psalter, printed by Robert Barker and the assigns of John Bill. The printed volume contains 464 unnumbered pages with engraved title pages. The binding measures 335 mm in height and 224 mm in width, executed on a ground of crimson Italian plain cut velvet.
The exterior features raised embroidery depicting the royal arms of Charles I, flanked by a lion and a unicorn, surrounded by ornate borders. The design is worked using silver thread, silver cord, gold, silver-gilt thread, coloured silks, wadding, beads, and spangles. The embroidery extends along the spine and onto decorative headbands and footbands made from crimson silk and metal-wrapped threads. Both volumes of the original pair once possessed crimson silk ties decorated with metal threads and gold bobbin lace.
The binding is attributed to the workshop of Edmund Harrison (1590–1667), King's Embroiderer, and was created in London after 1634.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Part of a pair of volumes known as the 'Spetchley Bindings' alongside a Holy Bible, this work was likely commissioned by Charles I in the 1630s for the Chapel Royal at Whitehall Palace. According to tradition, the King presented the volumes to the judge Sir Robert Berkeley of Spetchley (1584–1656), possibly for his support in 1637. The pair descended through the Berkeley family of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, until 2022, when it was accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height (binding): 335 mm; Width (binding): 224 mm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Harrison, Edmund
- Place recorded
- London, London
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Booke of Common Prayer, part of a pair known as the 'Spetchley Bindings'
- Museum object number
- 38041022005664
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.