Gold cross and chain found at Clare Castle, 1880

[Sduddy]

Clare Freeman, Wed 3 Nov 1880:

A Cross Five Hundred Years Old. An ancient gold cross was found last winter in an excavation in the ruins of Clare Castle, of which the Queen desired to know the history. As treasure trove, it became the property of the Crown, and by the Queen’s command, the antiquarians have found out all about it.
There is strong reason, they say, for believing that it formed at one time a part of the royal collection of jewels belonging to King Edward III, for it is recorded that he had among his jewels, kept for state preservation in the Tower of London, “a cross of gold which represents the cross of Jesus Christ, set with pearls, and cannot be valued.”
This description exactly answers to the cross found at Care, for that had four large pearls, one at each transverse section of the cross, while the cross itself was most beautifully foliated, and the chain, about two feet long, was of the richest description.
How this precious royal jewel came to be found in the ruins of Clare Castle is thus accounted for: ‘It was the common practice of our sovereigns in former ages to bestow on their children and grandchildren, as wedding gifts, rare jewels and relics, and as Edward III’s grand-daughter Phillipa was married to Edward Mortimer, the Lord of Clare, and upon her marriage came to reside at the Castle, she, in all probability, had the jewel given to her on the occasion, and it was by her taken to the Castle, where it got lost. What confirms this history beyond all doubt is the fact that this particular jewel, before described in old French, disappeared from that very time from the numerous inventories which are extant of the royal jewels. Thus this once royal jewel, which has been buried at Clare lost for five hundred years, has once more come into royal possession.’

Sheila

[Sduddy]

Well, I found that Clare Castle, where the gold cross was found, is in Suffolk, England: https://www.rct.uk/collection/69738/clare-reliquary

Sheila