The four silver vessels were made by craftsmen in Edinburgh and given to St Michael's Church in Inveresk in the 17th century by the Earl of Dunfermline.

Three of the cups will be auctioned at Christie's in London and a fourth has been sold to the Huntly House Museum in Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

David Scarratt: "They are extremely expensive"

It is estimated the church in East Lothian could receive up to £100,000 for the cups when they go under the hammer, with the money put towards essential repairs.

Local representatives of St Michael's Church declined to be interviewed about the sale decision.

But Church of Scotland approval was given because of the costs involved in keeping the cups.

Gordon Foster, of Christie's auctioneers, in South Kensington, said: "It's unusual to get any Scottish silver from this early period between 1620 and 1640.

"They were donated by the Earl of Dunfermline who put up the money for them to be made. And there were four cups made originally for the parish church of Inveresk.

"When you get to this level, then it is either museums or wealthy individuals who could maybe afford to acquire them."

Few examples left

Huntly House Museum spokesman David Scarratt said there were very few remaining examples of the cups and they were highly valuable.

He said: "They are of course quite scarce because they are now mostly over 300 years old, so with the various losses over the years their numbers have been reduced.

"They are also extremely expensive"

Douglas Galbraith, a member of the Church of Scotland's arts committee, said many of the ancient cups were put to bizarre uses.

He said: "It's always a matter of regret to the church and to the nation that at the time of the Reformation the medieval chalices were sold, for example, to mend potholes in the roads in Stirling.