While new versions of the Bible have often replaced the 1611 text in the everyday lives of contemporary Christians, the KJB has by no means disappeared. The small village church of St Bartholomew’s, Burstow, in southern England offers an example. It possesses an interesting early printing of the KJB. Many questions remain surrounding the origins of this copy and the exact nature of the text.
The ‘Burstow King James Bible Project’ was set up to commemorate the 400th anniversary and is based in the History Department at the University of Canterbury. The project is an ongoing attempt to unravel the provenance and nature of the Burstow text, and to explore its context in both the history of Early Modern religion and the history of the book. The project is simultaneously exploring the provenance of Canterbury's own KJB.
