The Bourne Casket was made in the 1660s by Eunice Bourne from Wyersdale, Lancashire. It is one of the finest examples of its kind, decorated with embroidered silk and silver brocade panels which depict the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Rebecca from the Old Testament. The interior of the casket is lined with velvet and fitted with drawers and secret compartments for small trinkets and keepsakes.

At a time when textiles were made and decorated by hand, needlework skills were necessary at all levels of society. The completion of a casket like this would have been the culmination of Eunice Bourne's education in needlework and it would have been displayed at her home in Lancashire.

One of the internal compartments contains an embroidered acorn which is said to have been from the Boscobel Oak tree where Charles II hid after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 during the English Civil Wars. Although embroidery of small objects was a fashionable pastime, it is likely that the acorn was a symbol of Royalist support for Charles II, who was restored to the throne in 1660.

Lancashire lay at the centre of The English Civil Wars. The county witnessed sporadic fighting for almost a decade during the 1640s, including the Battle of Preston in 1648 which brought an end to the first civil war and led to the execution of King Charles I. Areas across the county were affected including Liverpool Castle which was sieged, parts of Lancaster were burnt and plundered, and more than a thousand people were killed defending Bolton against Royalist forces.