Rare tankard finally returns to Glastonbury Abbey

A rare carved oak tankard, said to have been saved from King Henry VIII’s looters during the Dissolution of the Monasteries is to be returned to Glastonbury Abbey for the first time in 125 years.

The 16th century Glastonbury Grace Cup is said to have belonged to the abbots of Glastonbury, and has been a prized possession of the Arundells of Wardour for centuries. Arundell family tradition holds that when the abbey was dissolved in 1539 the cup was given to a Catholic ancestor for safekeeping.

The richly carved piece is decorated with 12 Apostles and the Crucifixion, in addition to birds, beasts and flowers. It is called a Grace Cup because of its religious associations and because this type of drinking vessel was passed around the assembled company after a ‘grace’ or thanksgiving prayer.

The cup is also known as a ‘peg tankard’ because of the internal vertical row of pegs, which allocated drinkers an equal measure of ale.

The style of the cup indicates that it is was made in Bohemia. This is consistent with the exploits of Thomas Arundell, ‘The Valiant’, who was created a hereditary count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1595 by Rudolph II for his military service in Hungary.

The cup was possibly presented to Thomas in return for his bravery against the Turks.

According to tradition, the Grace Cup escaped destruction a second time when Parliamentarians besieged Old Wardour Castle in 1643. While her husband, Thomas Arundell, was away fighting on King’s business, Lady Blanche nobly defended the castle for nine days with only 25 fighting men.

Although forced to surrender, she still managed to save the cup by hiding it.

The Glastonbury Grace Cup was last in Glastonbury 125 years ago as one of the exhibits to celebrate the inauguration of the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society in 1886.

After detailed research it has been tracked down again by local historian, trustee of Glastonbury Abbey and vice chairman of the Antiquarian Society, Dr Tim Hopkinson-Ball. He arranged for it to be loaned to the abbey, where it will star in an abbey museum exhibition celebrating the society, which runs from December 14 until the end of January.