Church will collect from rare box

The Church is sad to part with the box

A carved wooden box which gathered loose change for a parish church for almost 80 years is itself going to rake in the cash.

The box, which has rattled copper coins for the past 77 years, is being auctioned and is expected to raise thousands of pounds.

The offertory box was specially made for the Church of St Philip and St James, at Rock, near Alnwick, Northumberland by modernist artist Ben Nicholson.

The box is to be auctioned by Sotheby's in London and is expected to fetch up to £15,000.

Ben Nicholson made the offertory box in 1925

In the 1930s Nicholson sent shockwaves through the art world when he led a British movement which challenged the dominance of Paris and New York as centres of avant-garde art.

Nicholson was 31 when he first met Helen Sutherland, of Rock Hall, in 1925.

She became his first major patron as well as admirer and close friend and commissioned him to make the box for her village church.

The box, with a money slot, hinges and lock, was supported on a carved wooden stand.

'Famous artist'

It was used for decades, to collect offerings from its small congregation, but was deemed to insecure for modern use.

Reverend Michael Mountney said: "Some time ago someone did break into it and we stopped using it for offerings, It just isn't secure enough.

"We are a bit sad to lose it because, obviously, it was given to the church by Helen Sutherland and is by a very famous artist.

"But the fact of the matter is that it was not the most practical, because it was not particularly secure.

"The other thing is that in a small village like Rock funds are at a premium and it was felt, a little regrettably, that the box could provide funds to invest in the church building."

Money raised from the sale will go towards a new central heating system for the church and to help create a performance area for the use of a nearby school and people who want to hear the church's 120-year-old organ.

'Generate interest'

The Rock organ, built specially for the church by Halford Bosanquet, is one of just three tin pipe organs in the country and is currently being restored with the help of National Lottery cash.

The other two are at Hexham Abbey and Blenheim Palace.

The offertory box has recently been on show at the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle.

Andrew Heard, acting curator at the gallery, said: "The box is now with Sotheby's, but while it was on display here it did generate some interest.

"It is an interesting object by an important artist."

The offertory box will be auctioned on 4 December as part of a Modern British and Irish art sale.