Appeal prevents sale of medieval helmet abroad - Museums Association

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Appeal prevents sale of medieval helmet abroad

Royal Armouries welcomes judgement
Patrick Steel and Rebecca Atkinson
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The Royal Armouries has welcomed an appeal judgment that prevents the sale of a medieval helmet from a church near Basingstoke in Hampshire.

The Court of Arches, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s appeal court, ruled that the armet could not be legally sold by Wootton St Lawrence Church.

It had been on loan to the Royal Armouries for more than 30 years; it was on display in the White Tower at the Tower of London and the Royal Armouries in Leeds until 2010 when it was returned to the church.

The museum tried to acquire it at public auction in 2011, but it was sold to an overseas buyers for £45,000. A legal review by the Church of England followed the sale.

A spokesman for Wootton St Lawrence Church said: “We accept this judgment, but obviously we are disappointed with the outcome. The decision to sell was not taken lightly, and done following extensive consultation with our local community and parish, and we were careful to observe due legal process.

“The Royal Armouries was given first refusal on purchasing the armet to ensure that the armet would remain in the UK.

“The proceeds of the sale were to be used towards keeping the parish church in good condition. We also wanted to make changes to the building to ensure the church would be fully accessible to our growing congregation and expand our work with the local community.

“The church council will now need to reflect on the decision, review the financial implications, and decide the best way to move forward.”

A spokeswoman for the Royal Armouries said it was offered the chance to buy the helmet in 2010 at a higher price than its eventual sale price, but it was unable to purchase it from available funds.

Thom Richardson, the deputy master of the Royal Armouries, said: “The judgment in the Wootton St Lawrence case will hopefully help to close the floodgates for other parishes seeking to turn the armour in their care into cash. When such helmets appear on the art market they are almost universally sold abroad.

“While the museum has always done its best to acquire these pieces for the nation, as it has done in the past, with the positive help of grant-giving bodies dedicated to the preservation of our heritage, it was likely with the current state of museum funding that we would have purchased only a few examples in future and many would have left the country. This judgement should now prevent this from happening.”

The Royal Armouries has 50 items from English churches on loan, which it says helps safeguard objects and display them to a wider audience.


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