Research undertaken at Worcester University has confirmed that the chest is made of six oak boards nailed together, with repairs and further ironwork added later in the Medieval period. Each board has been pit-sawn and then worked with an adze. There is evidence of eleven locks on this chest, some of which were added at later stages.

Sources date the chest between 1287 and 1345; it is likely to have been made in response to the 1287 Edict issued by the Synod of Exeter, which ordered chests to be placed in every parish church, with compartments for church plate, books and vestments.