Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later | Heritage

Pieces of a monastery’s medieval tiled floor that were hidden in a sweets box for nearly 60 years after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family trip have finally been returned.

Three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th centuries, were taken as souvenirs by Simon White during a family visit. Wenlock Priory in Shropshire In the late 1960s.

White, now a 68-year-old retired contract surveyor, found the pieces inside an old confectionery box during a house move and belonged to English Heritage. He told authorities he remembered his father encouraging him to get the pieces, but he always felt a little uneasy and was overjoyed when he rediscovered the pieces.

“I can remember the day this all happened when my dad was on guard duty,” he said. “God knows what he would have said if we’d been caught. I’m not really sure what happened to the tiles afterwards, but they’ve survived many house moves and various family upheavals, and turned up in a battered tin in my attic earlier this year.”

With the help of family diaries, White realized they probably came from Wenlock Priory and contacted English Heritage, the custodians of the site.

Matty Cambridge, the charity’s assistant curator, said medievalists had concluded White was right to identify Wenlock as the scene of the show. He said tiles similar to the ones White bought were known to be available in only three places in Shropshire: Haughmond Priory, Bridgnorth Priory and Wenlock Priory.

Cambridge added: “Given that there are no tiles found in situ at Bridgnorth Priory and were not excavated until after Simon’s trip, and that only a small fragment of tiles are still found at the site at Haughmond Priory, we can narrow down the tiles found at Wenlock Priory.”

Wenlock was once home to Cluniac monks with a penchant for elaborate architectural decoration. Cambridge said English Heritage was particularly excited that a dragon motif previously unknown in the region was found on one of the pieces. “This is pretty exciting,” he said. Another piece shows the face of what is thought to be a lion, or possibly a grimacing face.

White met Cambridge at Wenlock Priory to return the pieces. “He wanted to do a little bit of a pilgrimage,” Cambridge said. “There are no hard feelings. He was only nine years old and was told: ‘Oh, that’s nice, take him home.’ We are so grateful to Mr. White for coming forward.

“It is not unusual for souvenirs to be taken from historic buildings, but in this case it is not unusual for the artefacts to be well preserved and protected for such a long period of time. We have much stricter measures in place these days to prevent this, but if Mr. White’s example from years ago disturbs the conscience of others, we would like to hear from them.”

The tiles will not be placed back on the floor but will be transported to the English Heritage archaeological shop for further analysis.

White said he has developed a keen interest in archeology since his retirement. “The local community I attend will probably view this situation negatively. It is right and proper that the tiles be returned to the home.”