Warwickshire Police ap-peal for help to find rightful owners of stolen bell

BUDDING internet super-sleuths had a ding-dong of a case this week when police appealed for help on Facebook in finding the rightful owners of a bell, pictured, that had been stolen.

An officer from the Warwickshire Rural Crime Team explained: “Recently the team conducted a warranted search for stolen goods in Rugby. Amongst these goods officers on the team seized this bell suspecting it had been stolen.”

Sharing a picture of the formidable-looking bell and appealing for further information, the officer asked: “Do you know of a building or church that has previously had a bell stolen? If so please message us. We hope to reunite this bell with its owner.”

At first glance the bell seemed to resemble the workhouse chapel bell one stolen from Oversley House, Alcester, in April 2021 – which has yet to be recovered.

That bell dated back to the 1830s and was stolen from what is now a retirement complex after the workhouse was converted into flats and cottages in 1984.

Although bells can be worth thousands of pounds, they are usually stolen for their scrap metal value.

Stratford bell historian and architectural researcher Chris Pickford pointed out differences between the two bells, including that they were made by different bellfounders (makers of bells).

Although police only shared an image of one side of the bell recovered in Rugby he was confident its home would eventually be identified. He observed: “It was cast by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon. I have access to the surviving foundry records which should – all being well – identify the original customer or location.

“If I can see the other side I should be able to identify it if I have the date, the size and four-figure serial number. I know most of the bells in Warwickshire and I don’t think it’s come from the county.”

He said the missing Alcester bell did not have an inscription and that the canons and certain details of the fittings indicate that it is the work of W & J Taylor of Oxford.

The Rugby bell has an intriguing inscription on it, which caused quite a bit of Googling among the sleuths

Adam Beer observed: “The inscription ‘Ora mente pia pro nobis Virgo Maria’ is Latin and means ‘Pray with pious mind for us Virgin Mary’. It’s got to have been nicked from some Catholic set-up, also looks a bit long for a change-ringing bell to me.”

Another bell expert Peter Whisker thought the inscription was quite common and therefore not that helpful.

“It’s a common medieval inscription – it’s on our 1380 Wokingham founders bell her at Chertsey. But as it may be 20th century from the lettering I guess it may be for a Catholic foundation.”

There was no further information about the bell’s origins when the Herald went to press.