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Pyx Chamber

The Pyx Chamber is one of the oldest surviving parts of Westminster Abbey.

This low vaulted room off the East Cloister is part of the Undercroft, underneath the monks' dormitory, which was built about 1070. The Chamber was walled off in the 12th century, and made into a treasury in the 13th century, and possibly used as a sacristy when Henry III was rebuilding the main Abbey from 1245. Later it was used to house Exchequer records.

The two heavy oak entrance doors, with seven locks, date from the early 14th century (the original entrance being from the vestibule of the Chapter House where the Abbey's oldest door is housed).The chamber still possesses its medieval tiled floor and some tiles from the 11th century.

Cope Chest in the Pyx Chamber

Medieval chests

The large curved medieval chest was used to store vestments called copes, worn at services. The other chests, from the late 13th and late 14th centuries, held important treaties and foreign policy documents belonging to the Exchequer. Names of the countries concerned remain scratched on the insides of the lids. The curious wooden shelf between the pillar and east wall is medieval but its purpose is unknown.

A medieval wooden door ajar revealing a small chamber with benches and a stone altar with a crucifix and candles

The Pyx Chamber

Origins and stone table

It takes its name 'Pyx' from wooden boxes in which silver and gold pieces were kept secure to await the "Trial of the Pyx" - melting down the measured silver content as a way of showing that the coinage was pure - established in 1281. The stone table (not an altar) against the east wall was used to test the silver. The circular depression in the table was where the portable furnace used during the trial was placed. The stone dais to the south could have been where the officials at the trial sat on benches. The Trial continues to this day in Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London.

The table has been used as an altar for occasional services since 1988 with a modern altar cross. A public viewing platform has been added at the entrance.