Bell stolen from Chatham

[LOVE, Dickon]

I am sorry to inform people that a bell has been stolen from the redundant
church of St Mary the Virgin, Chatham, Kent. It was by William Hatch, dated
1651, and was fairly small (I don't have the exact diameter or inscription
to hand although it is something like "WILLIAM HATCH MADE ME 1651"
imaginatively enough). It is thought that it was taken a week last Saturday
following a spate of break ins. The bell was stored in the main body of the
church on a ledge on display.

There is a picture of it on http://kent.lovesguide.com/chatham.htm although
I will be seeking to put more details and a better resolution photo on there
when I get my home PC back. (I see the card next to the bell states it was
cast in 1656. Stahlschmidt gives 1651 so I need to have a closer look at the
inscription in the photo.)

This again demonstrates that storing bells in churches is a risky business.
The church had been warned in past, but the warning fell on deaf ears (the
organ was stolen years ago).

It would be good if people could keep an eye out and either let me know or
the tower correspondent Tim Wraight (diana-at-wraight.fslife.co.uk) if
anyone should hear about it.

DrL


___________________________________________________________________________

This e-mail and the documents attached are confidential and intended solely
for the addressee; it may also be privileged. If you receive this e-mail in
error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy it. As its integrity
cannot be secured on the Internet, the Atos Origin group liability cannot be
triggered for the message content. Although the sender endeavours to maintain
a computer virus-free network, the sender does not warrant that this
transmission is virus-free and will not be liable for any damages resulting
from any virus transmitted. 
___________________________________________________________________________