This large fixture in the parish church of Alcester, Warwickshire, is a very elaborate example of a benefaction board. These boards were set up in churches to record and memorialise key donors (‘benefactors’) and acts of charity within the local community. They served as a public representation of bequests in wills and benefaction books recording the details of gifts to the parish. The Alcester benefaction board, dated 1632, is unusual in form and content – it is a triptych made up of a central panel, with two doors that open to reveal imagery on the interior sides. When closed, the exterior displays painted inscriptions. When open, there are four painted scenes showing charitable giving with relevant biblical texts either side of what would originally have been two parchments recording specific benefactions.<br /> <br /> While no records relating to this board survive, other churchwardens’ accounts suggest how benefaction boards were updated. For example, the 1641 accounts from St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, record a payment to ‘Morgan the painter’ for ‘the new table (meaning ‘board’) and for writing in Mr Harringtons gift in the old’. Such maintenance likely explains why the Alcester board was overpainted in the 1680s, when the parchments were probably updated.
Benefaction Board (Triptych), 1632

Back to Charity Collection icon

Benefaction Board

Benefaction Board (Triptych), 1632

This large fixture in the parish church of Alcester, Warwickshire, is a very elaborate example of a benefaction board. These boards were set up in churches to record and memorialise key donors (‘benefactors’) and acts of charity within the local community. They served as a public representation of bequests in wills and benefaction books recording the details of gifts to the parish. The Alcester benefaction board, dated 1632, is unusual in form and content – it is a triptych made up of a central panel, with two doors that open to reveal imagery on the interior sides. When closed, the exterior displays painted inscriptions. When open, there are four painted scenes showing charitable giving with relevant biblical texts either side of what would originally have been two parchments recording specific benefactions.

While no records relating to this board survive, other churchwardens’ accounts suggest how benefaction boards were updated. For example, the 1641 accounts from St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, record a payment to ‘Morgan the painter’ for ‘the new table (meaning ‘board’) and for writing in Mr Harringtons gift in the old’. Such maintenance likely explains why the Alcester board was overpainted in the 1680s, when the parchments were probably updated.

Object Type Triptych
Year 1632
Material Wood and paint
Discovered St Nicholas’ Church, Alcester
Keywords worshipping; praying; reading; displaying; self-fashioning; remembering; reputation; belief; charity; church; parish; craftsmanship; memorial; wood
Image Credit Benefaction Board, from St Nicholas’ Church, Alcester, 1632. Personal Photograph.

Back to Charity Collection icon