ABSTRACT
The development of dendrochronology over the last twenty-five years has emphasized the extent to which timber was imported into England in the late medieval period. The chest in St Margaret's Church is currently kept at the west end of the north aisle. In addition to the basic kit, the St Margaret's chest employs angle-brackets for reinforcement with internal iron bands used to reinforce a lid which has split longitudinally. The great chest of standard form in Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge is so covered with iron and secured with locks that it is impossible to see the internal carpentry, but it is clearly of the 15th century and probably a pine standard. An inventory of the property of a King's Lynn shipmaster in 1589 records three old danske chests among his possessions, and the Boston accounts for 1398 refer to a consignment of chests and thread valued at 60s.
