THE VINEGAR BIBLE
King James Bible : Printed by John Baskett, Oxford 1717
Presented to St.Mary’s Church, Alderley by: Thomas Croft, Rector of Alderley, 1741 – 1753
John Baskett, an Oxford printer, published an edition of the King James Bible of his own, which came to be named after him, The Baskett Bible. It was one of the most magnificent English Bibles ever printed, though marred by quite a few errors. It was dubbed The “Vinegar Bible” because, in Luke 20, the word “vineyard” was misprinted “vinegar”.
PRAYER BOOKS PRESENTED BY BISHOP OF NORWICH
Edward Stanley (Rector of Alderley – 1805 – 1837)
Queen Victoria presented these books to Edward Stanley the then Bishop of Norwich. After Edward’s brother, the first Lord Stanley died, his wife Maria Josepha moved away from Alderley. In a letter, she sends to her daughter-in-law Henrietta Maria, she writes:
“On any account, I would not wish to take with me the dear Bishop’s prayer books. They were presents to Alderley Church and should be heirlooms there to the end of the world”
GENEVA / BREECHES BIBLE
(1607 edition)
Imprinted in London by Robert Barker
Presented to: St.Mary’s Church, Alderley in 1948
The reign of Queen Mary (“Bloody Mary”) was an obstacle to the printing of the Bible in English. Mary continued to burn reformers at the stake for the “crime” of being a Protestant, therefore many refugees fled from England with little hope of ever seeing their home or friends again.
In the 1550’s, the Church of Geneva, Switzerland, was very sympathetic to the reformer refugees and was one of only a few safe havens for desperate people. They were determined to produce a Bible that would educate their families whilst they continued in exile.
The complete Bible was first published in 1560. It became known as the Geneva Bible. Due to a passage in Genesis describing the clothing that God fashioned for Adam and Eve upon exp