Within the next few months, our four Charles II Communion chalices, now 324 years old, are to be put on public display in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks where they will be on loan from this Church for the next five years. For the last 20 years, they have been locked in the bank with our other church silver, and prior to that, were used regularly at our communion services until their increasing value prohibited this.
These four matching chalices were bequeathed to our predecessors in Cook St. Meeting House by Rev. Dr. Thomas Harrison, D.D., under his will dated 16th June, 1682, which states “I give unto the congregation of Cook St. whereunto I do belong, £20 to buy plate for the Lord’s Table. To the poor of said congregation £5.” £20 was a very considerable sum in those days, and the congregation of Cook St. commissioned one of the top goldsmiths in the country, Andrew Gregory, to make them. Andrew Gregory had been appointed Senior Warden of the Dublin Goldsmiths Company in 1681, and probably finished these cups late in 1682 or early 1683. They are inscribed with a coat of arms of three lions rampant, and the following words: “The legacy of Dr. Thomas Harrison decd. September 18th anno Dom.1682, for ye Service of the Lord’s Supper, Bequeathed to ye use of His Church at the Meeting House in Cook St., Dublin”. Cook St. Meeting House closed in 1787, and the congregation moved to Strand St, and Strand St. congregation built our current Church on St Stephen’s Green in 1863.
Dr. Thomas Harrison was no ordinary minister. He was born in 1619 in Hull, Yorkshire, the son of Robert Harrison. He received his B.A. from Sidney College, Cambridge, in 1638. These were very troubled times in England, and Rev.Harrison, who was sympathetic to the puritan cause, went to America, and by May 1640, had been engaged as Minister of the Elizabeth River parish in Norfolk Co., Virginia. By 1642, Rev. Harrison had been appointed Chaplain to the Governor, Sir William Berkley. Although officially a minister in the Church of England, Thomas Harrison had non-conformist views on religion, and in April, 1645 was called before the Virginia Council to answer charges of non-conformity. In 1647, Governor Berkley passed an act in Virginia requiring all ministers to use the Book of Common Prayer. Harrison refused to do so, and was banished from the colony in 1648. He moved to Massachusetts where he married Dorothy Symonds, niece of Governor Winthrop.
Meanwhile, in England, dramatic changes were taking place, with civil war, the execution of King Charles II in 1649, and the establishment of the puritan, Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. About 1652-53, Harrison was called back to England where he was installed as pastor to St Dunstan’s parish in London. Like all good Yorkshiremen, he was clearly a renowned preacher, and was known to Oliver Cromwell who often sat before him as he preached. About 1655, he removed to St Oswald’s in Chester where, now a widower, he subsequently married Katherine Bradshaw, daughter of Edward Bradshaw, Mercer, and Sherriff of Chester. He then moved to Dublin where, in 1657, he was appointed Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell’s son, Lord Henry Cromwell. Next year he received his Doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin, and published his renowned book, “Topica Sacra” entitled “Spiritual Logick …some brief Hints and Helps to Faith, Meditation, Prayer, Comfort and Holiness”, dedicated to Lord Henry Cromwell. This Book is in the hands of his 6th Great Grandson James A. Munsey, and may be viewed on the internet under website http://www.jamesmunsey.com/harrison-book.html.
The restoration of King Charles II in 1660, and the Act of Uniformity silenced all non-conformist ministers like Dr. Harrison, and after a further short period in Chester, he returned to Dublin where he was Minister to the “private” congregation at Cook St., a congregation he came to love and where he preached for the last 20 years of his life till he died in 1682. Because of his American connection we have, in the past, had inquiries from Unitarian visitors from the U.S.A. about this famous man. Two American presidents trace their ancestry back to Thomas Harrison, including Abraham Lincoln. Thomas Harrison is one of our most illustrious forbears whose preaching clearly included some of the religious principals which we still hold, and was prepared to risk his life for those principals.
In relation to these chalices, we are deeply indebted to the following people: Ida Delamer of the Goldsmiths Company, who spent many hours of her time researching and valuing all our silver and particularly the detail about the maker of these chalices, Andrew Gregory. To Michael Kenny, Keeper of Art and Industry of the National Museum of Ireland who managed to persuade the Board of the Museum to put these chalices on display, and who found space for them in a prominent position. To James Weldon of Clarendon St., who carried out previous research and valuations free of charge. To Daphne Flannery of our Congregation who put us in touch with many of the important contacts, and who established the value of these chalices on the open market. And finally to James Munsey, 6th Great Grandson of Thomas Harrison, whose website filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge about this amazing person.

Dennis Aylmer