Gold cufflinks mistakenly donated to bric-a-brac stall reunited with owner who then gives part of sale proceeds to Stansted windmill’s restoration fund

A valuable pair of gold cufflinks discovered among the bric-a-brac donations for Stansted windmill’s fete earlier this summer have resulted in a welcome donation to the monument’s restoration fund.

Eagle-eyed windmill volunteer and antiques expert Tony Wellings found the small box containing the pair of cufflinks made with foreign coins and suspected they may have been mistakenly handed over.

Realising their potential worth, an appeal was put out to find the rightful owner.

Not only did windmill trustees succeed in reuniting the owner with their misplaced gold, but the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, went on to sell the pair for £400 and donated a third – £133.33 – to windmill funds. The remainder was shared between the owner’s two children.

It was good fortune for the millers, who are facing increased restoration costs to repoint the windmill’s brickwork. Despite replacing 300 crumbling bricks, a further 600 still need replacing.

Treasurer Richard Thomas said: “There are many more that are badly broken or eroded that could do with being replaced while the scaffolding is there to give access.”