[Bell Historians] recovered church bell

[Chris Pickford]

Yeah, plod and his EH mates dragging an antique bell roughly over pebbly concrete - not that convincing as a co-ordinated professional approach top safeguarding stolen heritage property. Hardly the way to treat a precious artefact! 

Reminds me of a case I've encountered very recently of a bell from a Warwickshire Country house (which I saw back in 1980 with Chris Dalton who photographed it for me) that was stolen while the house was unoccupied. It was dated 1610 and inscribed with the names of the people who owned the house when it was remodelled in the early C17th. It was sold as unclaimed property in a police auction of stolen goods, but fortunately someone local realised where it came from - though after the sale, and the present owners of the house (now a hotel) had to buy it back. 

Apparently (according to the information now displayed alongside the bell in the hotel foyer) the police claimed that they hadn't even noticed the inscription and date on the bell at all - let alone followed the clues (the inscription is in the VCH) as to where it came from! 

CP           
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