Accession Number

2023.003.019a-b

Alternate Name

hymnbook

Description

a) One white fabric pouch with a white drawstring at the opening. 19.9cm X 14.7cm b) One hard-bound Book of Common Prayer, Ancient and Modern, 587 pages. The book is bound in fine Morocco leather, Venetian red in colour. The rectangular front cover has separated from the rest of the book but is otherwise in good condition. There is gilded embossed decoration on the cover consisting of one single-lined outer border and one double-lined inner border. Between the two borders at each of the four corners, is a single Tudor Rose. Inside the inner border, at each of the four corners, is a single Prince of Wales’s feathers badge. At the centre of the cover is a Tudor Rose beneath a crown. To its left is “E” (for Edward) and to its right is “R” (for Rex, meaning King). Beneath the Tudor Rose is “VII”. The back cover is the same as the front cover, but without the Royal insignia at the centre. The spine has six sections delineated by gilded 5 double lines and two single lines. At the top is the Royal Cypher for King Edward Vll, next are the words “COMMON PRAYER HYMNS A&M”, and then alternating Tudor Roses the Prince of Wales’s feathers until the word “OXFORD” appears at the bottom. On the first page of the book is the handwritten inscription in black ink: “For dear Mrs. Holme-Sumner for “Auld Laing Syne” from Alexandra Coronation Day August 9, 1902 Xmas 1902”.

Narrative

This book was inscribed by hand in black ink by HM Queen Alexandra (1844-1925). Margaret Joan Harvey and her husband Berkeley Holme-Sumner attended the Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward Vll and Queen Alexandra on August 2, 1902. They kept their invitation, tickets, and other related documents (see 2022.006.020), but Mrs. Holme-Sumner did not receive this prayer book from HM Queen Alexandra until Christmas of 1902. 
Berkeley Holme-Sumner’s parents were friends with Edward and Alexandra. 
 

History of Use

This book was created in England in 1902 and used by Margaret Joan Harvey (Mrs. Holme-Sumner) in Britain until the 1950s when it became the property of their daughter, Georgiana Holme-Sumner, and then by Georgiana Holme-Sumner’s son, who donated it to Craigdarroch Castle in 2023.

Date

1902

Dimensions

15.3 x 10 x 4.3 cm

Material

Fabric; Leather; Paper

Country of Origin

England