Hand of St James the Apostle

The Hand of Saint James the Apostle is a holy relic brought to England by Empress Matilda in the 12th century.

In 1539 at the dissolution of the monasteries, English monks hid the hand in an iron chest in the abbey walls. It was dug up again in 1786 by workmen and given to Reading Museum. In 1840 was sold to J. Scott Murray, who put it in his private chapel at Danesfield House. On his death in 1882 he gave it to St. Peter's Church in Great Marlow (now Marlow), which is where it resides today.