Artist's son launches £220,000 appeal to save Furneux Pelham angels after lead thieves steal church roof
The son of the artist who restored Furneux Pelham church's painted medieval ceiling has launched a £220,000 appeal to repair the roof decimated by thieves.
The thieves destroyed the roof by removing the lead tiles of the 13th-century, grade II listed St Mary the Virgin on two successive nights over the weekend of June 15-16. Piles of lead left on the ground led Hertfordshire police to believe the thieves might have been disturbed by villagers.
Chief Inspector Stuart Orton said: "This is one of the worst cases of heritage crime I think we've seen in the county. The impact on the community is immense."
The first records of a church at Furneux Pelham date back to the late 1100s. The oldest remaining part of today's St Mary the Virgin is the chancel, constructed in the late 1200s.
The church has a medieval carved wooden roof, including wooden angels, which was restored and painted in the 1960s by artist John Norbury. He died in 2009 and is buried in the churchyard.
His son Ben said: "Lead thieves have destroyed the entire roof... causing £225,000 damage. Insurance will pay out less than 5% of this.
"The lead was covering oak planks and you can see the sky through the gaps between them. The roof won't last long in this state and the angels will rot and fall apart if they get soaked from the back."
The roof restored by his father was, he said, a "unique example".
"It includes rich symbolism representing the interests of both the artist and the Hughes family of Furneaux Pelham Hall. Their generous patronage not only supported the church roof project but also helped the artist and his family when they moved to the village and set up a studio in the 1950s, in cottages opposite the house later to be occupied by the famous politician Dame Shirley Williams.
"The church desperately needs funds to help restore the roof and save both the ancient wooden structure and the modern painting."
Anyone with information about the theft should call the East Herts local crime unit on 101, quoting crime number 41/54130/19.
