QUADCENTENARY OPEN DAY FOR COMMUNION GOBLETS

PARISH NEWS

Tranent Parish Church is holding an open day this month (April) to commemorate the 400th anniversary of their two communion cups.

The cups were made of gilt silver by George Crawford of Edinburgh and presented by George Seton, Third Earl of Winton, to the Church in 1618. However they were lost to the church for over 200 years when, either in 1715, when the Fifth Earl of Winton rose to support the Old Pretender, or in 1745, after the church become a key player in the Battle of Prestonpans, the cups were stowed away into the care of another branch of the Seton family at Touch in Stirlingshire.

There they stayed until 1930, when Sir Douglas Seton gifted the goblets to the Scottish Episcopal Bishop Harry Reid of Edinburgh. 15 years later, they were i nally returned to Tranent – on the stipulation that they must be kept and used for their intended purpose, as has happened for the past 72 years.

The open day will be held on April 21 from 12 noon-3pm. Entry is free and refreshments are available.

This article appears in the April 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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