Old Church Safe/Strongbox 19th Centrury

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This is a castiron strongbox, from the late 18c-early19c. They were widely used in offices, and by the wealthy.

Rose’s Act After much prevarication by opponents, George Rose eventually succeeded in passing though parliament an act, the Parochial Registers Act 1812, (52 Geo III Ch 146). This is commonly known as ‘Rose’s Act’ (although this Rose was also sponsor of several other Acts).
It came into effect in 1813. This was the last of numerous church and government orders to priests and churchwardens to provide a church chest.

The Act provided that these new registers remain in the ‘Custody of the Rector, Vicar, Curate of … each respective Parish or Chapelry as aforesaid, and shall be by him safely and securely kept in a dry well-painted Iron Chest, to be provided and repaired as Occasion may require, at the expence (sic) of the Parish’. And this chest ‘shall be constantly kept locked in some dry, safe and secure Place within the usual Place of residence of such Rector, Vicar, Curate, … or in the Parish Church’.
Castiron chests The type of chest obtained by churches which did not already have a suitable chest was a cast-iron box. These are usually modelled as framed and panelled wooden chests, though some are completely plain.

Such cast-iron chests appeared towards the end of the 18th century. They were originally made in Britain, principally at Coalbrookdale (Ironbridge Gorge) and the Carron Foundry near Falkirk; they were also made in America. A similar pattern of chest was also much used as a strongbox by better-off families, and some businesses.
Two sorts of lock were commonly used on these cast-iron chests. Both types are warded, although some patent locks did exist, and were also occasionally used. One lock is a small block lock. This is mounted by large screws nearer the edge of the lid. The other would normally be called a ‘press lock’. This is longer, so that its keyhole is near the handle in the middle of the lid. It is a flanged doublehanded lock, normally used on the inside of the large doors of domestic ‘presses’. Press in this context is a mediæval word for what we would now call a cupboard, usually tall, and often built-in (also, a library bookcase was called a press).

Many of the chests in churches have lost their locks, but some are intact. Some of these chests were still in use by part-time village registrars into the 1970’s! Such chests also circulate in the antique trade. Evidently, the sledgehammer was not a common tool at the end of the 18th century, or the weakness of cast-iron would have been exploited. It is brittle!

Whilst Rose’s bill was in parliament, there was extensive consultation. The Anglican parsons who would have to keep the registers protested that it was too onerous a task. As a result, the Act was eviscerated, and Nonconformists and Roman Catholics were not registered. By common consent, it was soon recognised that the Act as passed, was woefully flawed and could not achieve Rose’s aims. Eventually, increasing concern that the poor registration undermined property rights, by making it difficult to establish lines of descent, coupled with the complaints of Nonconformists and Roman Catholics, led to the 1836 creation of the modern General Register Office, originally in Somerset House.
Several ‘Rose’s Act’ chests remain in British parish churches. They are a lasting reminder of a piece of social and technological history. A few even have ‘1813’ cast on the lid. They are often overlooked and ignored — unlike antique wooden chests which are usually highly esteemed and now carefully preserved. Antique iron chests and antique safes are just as much part of our history as wooden ones, though they no longer provide actual protection against either fire or theft.
Castiron chests and safes, although mouse-proof, promote the damage of records by damp, being prone to condensation when the temperature drops. Indeed, with the growing number of metal thefts today, they deserve to be protected themselves. The lock is usually a warded lock; some have a lever lock. They should not be impossibly difficult for a locksmith to open.