(the finder) identifying the book as the King’s Primer and suggesting it had been hidden away during the time of Queen Mary I.
Hidden away
Why was this hidden? These books are in English but during the reign of catholic Queen Mary prayer-books had to be in Latin as church services were entirely in Latin and prayers in English would be considered blasphemous. Further, the King’s Primer has a paragraph that reads: “From all sedition and conspiracy, from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and his detestable enormities, from all false doc- trine and heresy ... good Lord deliver us.” In addition, Katherine Parr was a leading protestant, so during the reign of catholic Queen Mary I, who reigned from1553 to 1558 and actively persecuted protestants, possession of this book could have been a death sentence – by burning at the stake.
In Canterbury, just 10 miles away from Faversham, several Protestants were put to death during Mary’s reign and they are known as the Canterbury Martyrs. There are a few other examples of books hidden away during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. For example, a copy of another book by John Fisher was found hidden under floor boards at Oxburgh Hall (www.
Title page of the Katherine Parr prayer-book.
Prayer for King Edward VI – dat- ing Psalms and prayers to 1547.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8634659), as well as examples of catholic books hidden in priest holes during the time of Protestant Queen Elizabeth (
https://tinyurl.com/bdf2d3z6).
A perfect hiding place?
The book was hidden in a chimney yet there is no trace of smoke damage or soot so it is suggested it may have been hidden in a salt niche. Inglenook chimneys some- times had a double wall with a cavity. This could have an alcove 30cm tall and a brick shelf extending sideways into the cavity. The niche was for storage of a jar of salt
Anti-catholic and anti-Pope statement in King’s Primer.
to keep it dry. It would be possible to hide the book at the end of the cavity against the side wall and conceal the item behind bricks creating a false wall and further disguise it with some dirt and further con- ceal it by putting a decorative jar of salt on the shelf in the alcove.
It is pleasing to report the stratagem worked for there were no recorded exe- cutions for heresy in Faversham during Mary’s reign. Thus, the book remained hid- den for nearly three and a half centuries. So, this book is a memorial to bigotry and intolerance. IP
Summer 2025
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 51
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