Stone of Destiny stolen from Westminster Abbey
THERE was much excitement in London on Christmas Day 1950 when it was discovered that the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, had been stolen from its place underneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey.
Despite a nationwide police search on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, reported the News Letter, no trace of the ancient and historic stone had been found by police detectives who had been put on the trail of the thieves. The only clues which had been discovered by the searchers were the initials JFS which had been found freshly carved in the gilt of the Coronation Chair.
It was believed that the stone had been removed from the abbey by the thieves who had "secreted" themselves in the abbey after the Christmas Eve service. The stone – which weighed 485lb – had been dragged from its position behind the high altar, about 140 feet through the south screen door, round the south transept and out of the Poets' Corner entrance – "the most secluded in the abbey" – the padlock of which had been wrenched off.
One of the legs of the Coronation Chair was damaged during the removal of the stone. The front seat board was split and some old iron brackets were wrenched loose. Dust and chips of decayed wood were also left lying it about.
Mr Andrew Hislop, the night watchman at the abbey, told reporters how he had discovered that the Stone of Destiny was missing. He said that the relic had been in its usual place when he had made his rounds at 11pm and 12.15am
He said: "I first knew that something was wrong when I went to look at the doors in the morning at about 6.15am I found the Poets' Corner door had been burst open and I saw the lock lying on the floor. That door was bombed during the war and the original door is not there; there is only a temporary door with a padlock and staple, and it is the only possible door by which they could have broken into the abbey.
"I went straight away to the Henry VII chapel to see if the Battle of Britain silver was all right. I then checked the cross on the High Altar, and was making my way to Edward the Confessor's tomb when I flashed my torch on the Coronation Chair and the stone was gone.
"Part of the chair was broken. A strip of wood about two feet of long and an inch or so wide which held the stone in its position underneath the chair was lying on the floor. I went straight away and told Mr William Bishop, the Clerk of the Works, who dialled 999. That was about 6.20am."
The Dean of Westminster, Dr Alan C. Don, told newspaper reporters: "The disappearance of the stone is the most devastating thing which could have happened. It is impossible to put a value on it, for it is the most precious relic that we have and we shall never be happy until it is returned to us.
"I cannot possibly imagine what motive there could be for removing it from the abbey. It has never been outside the abbey since it was first used. Even during the war it remained with us, but hidden in the abbey."
While the search for the stone was continuing throughout Britain Miss Wendy Wood, leader of the Scottish Patriots' Association, was drawing up plans for a campaign to prove that those who had "retrieved" the stone from Westminster Abbey for Scotland could not be charged with theft.
Speaking from her cottage at Salen, Argyllshire, she said: "All this talk about thieves is absolute rubbish. The stone was not stolen. It was only retrieved. If someone stole your watch and you got it back, you wouldn't be stealing. You would be taking back what belonged to you. There is no reason at all why there should not be proper rejoicing in Scotland."
The Earl of Mansfield, whose family seat was at Scone Palace, said on December 27: "If the Scottish Stone of Destiny is ever brought to Scone Palace, I should be extremely reluctant to hand it over to the English authorities.
"It would depend, of course, on who had taken the stone from Westminster Abbey, and I should have to give the matter considerable thought before even accepting the stone from those who removed it on Monday. I should probably be regarded as being an accessory after the fact of breaking and entering a sacred edifice.
"In view of the fact that the stone undoubtedly pertains to the line of Scottish kings, however, belong to the King as King of Scotland, not as King of England.
"In the future, the stone should be kept at Scone or Holyrood, instead of Westminster, where it has been retained for over 600 years in breach of the Treaty of Northampton.
"I suggest that future monarchs be crowned on the stone in Scotland as kings of Scotland, and it could then be taken to London on loan for a second coronation ceremony. Afterwards it should be returned to its rightful resting place in Scotland."
Meanwhile, the Duke of Montrose speaking on Christmas night had commented on the theft of the Stone of Destiny: "If it be true that our ancient Stone of Destiny is on its way back to Scotland I do not regret it. Our old Scottish charters are now being returned to Edinburgh, and everyone agrees that that is right and as it should be."
Mr John MacCormick, chairman of the Scottish Covenant, whose petition for a greater measure of home rule for Scotland was signed for nearly two million Scots in 1949, said: "The Stone of Destiny properly belongs to the people of Scotland."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South west
