This silver pyx was found by a metal detectorist at Hoghton near Preston. It was once used by a Catholic Priest to carry the sacred bread – the body of Christ – to those who could not get to church to receive Holy Communion. Religious intolerance after the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 meant it was illegal to even own one.

Other items relating to Catholicism in Lancashire include a small collection of locally-excavated finds by archaeologists and metal detectorists including pottery fragments associated with Preston’s Friary.