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Dec 26, 2021 6 tweets 3 min read Read on X
In cobwebbed corners of churches, are carved alms-boxes. Many, like this one at Watton, Norfolk, are inscribed, urging passers-by to ‘remember the poor’. For centuries, the collections in these oaken boxes were society’s main source of poor relief.

#BoxingDay #thread
Two of the earliest poor-boxes in English churches date from the mid-14th century and can be found on Holy Island, Northumberland. However, most surviving ones – many of which are still in use – date to the 17th century. 

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Boxing Day has been a tradition in the UK for centuries. Though it only officially got that name in the 1830s… and didn’t become a bank holiday until 1871. 26th December is the feast day of St Stephen – an early deacon who made it his duty to care for the poor.

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26th December was the day when the rich boxed up gifts for the poor of the parish. It was also a day off for servants, when they received a Christmas box from their employers. And they, in turn, would meet their families to exchange boxes.

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Churches played an important role in the Boxing Day tradition. Coins collected in the alms-box throughout the year were held in a box, which was opened on Christmas Day. The following day, Boxing Day, the money was taken from the box and distributed to the poor.

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From the late 19th century, many alms-boxes were repurposed as donation boxes for general church expenses – including building maintenance, flower funds and running costs.

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More from @friendschurches

Jul 28
With a 15th-century rood loft hovering over rows of 18th-century box pews, the interior of St David’s, Llangeview in Monmouthshire offers a glimpse into the forms of worship from two bygone ages.

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Spanning the entire width of the nave, the rood loft is a relic from the late medieval past. Before the Reformation, the rood loft would have carried the rood, a carving of Christ on the cross.

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Jul 23
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Jul 9
Across the centuries, the saintly dedication of a parish church can change — and at Manordeifi in Pembrokeshire, it is thought that the church's dedication has shifted several times throughout its long history.

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Apr 19
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📷 East window of St Cadoc's, Llangattock-Vibon-Avel by Lavers & Barraud (1875). Image
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Dec 18, 2024
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© The Wallace Collection Painting by Rubens: The Rainbow Landscape. A rainbow forms an arc across most of this landscape painting. Below it is a idealised rural harvest scene, with agricultural workers (men and women), cows, and carts with horses at the edge of a stream. From the Wallace Collection (licensed under Creative Commons).
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