POLICE have recovered two 15th-century decorative oak panels
panels, stolen from the rood screen in Holy Trinity, Torbryan, in
Devon, in 2013 (News, 16 August
2013). The Metropolitan Police Art and Antiques Unit was
alerted after a collector spotted the panels in a specialist online
sale.
The discovery led to a raid by specialist detectives in south
London, in January. On Wednesday, the Churches Conservation Trust
launched an appeal for £7000 to repair damage inflicted when the
panels, which bear images of St Victor of Marseilles and St
Margaret of Antioch, were hacked from the screen.
West Mercia Police are now investigating the theft as part of
Operation Icarus, which has re- covered church artefacts including
stonework, friezes, statues, paintings, brasses, misericords,
stained glass, and bibles.
The historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank, who backed the
original campaign to find the stolen panels, said: "I'm delighted
that these artworks - once feared lost for ever - have been
recovered by the police. The panels are irreplaceable examples of
an important period in our art and history, and pieces like this
help us to learn about who we are as a society. They should belong
to everyone."
www.visitchurches.org.uk/Torbryan
www.westmercia.police.uk