Set of coffins of St Thomas Becket for display at Hereford Cathedral

A container said to have once contained a relic of St Thomas Becket will go on display at the cathedral.

The saint’s enameled reliquary will be on display for two days from November 15 at Hereford Cathedral.

Becket’s reliquary is one of several created in Limoges, France, around 1200-1210, decades after Becket’s death, according to the cathedral.

St Thomas was killed by four knights at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 after he quarreled with King Henry II.

Becket’s reliquary was originally intended to contain the relics of the saint himself, according to a spokesman for Hereford Monument.

Once built, it was to be placed on the altar of Hereford Cathedral, dedicated to St. Thomas.

Jennifer Dumbelton, librarian at Hereford Cathedral, said they were delighted to share their reliquary with visitors and called it a “world-class work of art”.