RARE TREASURE: The medieval silver seal depicting the murder of Thomas Becket, found in a field in 2006
Museum to Appeal to Keep Rare Relic
By Jill Neill 7:50am Friday 18th July 2008
A MUSEUM has launched an appeal to buy a medieval relic to ensure it stays in the area in which it was found.
If the Richmondshire Museum, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, can not raise �3,800 to buy the 14th Century silver seal matrix, the artefact could be go to a national collection.
The tiny oval medallion was found by metal detecting enthusiast Carl Richardson, of Coxhoe, Durham, in a field near Brompton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire, in October 2006.
However, an ownership dispute ensued, involving Mr Richardson, fellow treasure seeker Richard Hunter, from Peterlee, east Durham, and landowner John Wray, the outcome of which will be determined by experts at the British Museum.
Those deemed to have a genuine interest in the item will share the proceeds of its sale.
At an inquest at Harrogate in January, coroner Geoff Fell declared the seal matrix treasure and it was sent to the British Museum to be valued.
The British Museum has now asked the Richmondshire Museum if it would like to buy the item.
The medallion depicts the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, with the figures of three knights and a Latin inscription. It was designed to be worn around the neck and would have been used to form a wax seal to authenticate documents.
It is believed to date from the early 1300s, when a chantry dedicated to St Thomas Becket was founded in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, in Richmond Market Place.
A spokesman for the Richmondshire Museum said: �Seal matrices showing Becket�s killing are rare and it is possible this matrix was associated with the chantry in Richmond, so it is of great local importance.
�If the Richmondshire Museum can not raise the purchase price of �3,800, this locally important historical artefact will be bought by a national museum, so ending its 700-year stay in Richmondshire.�
Museum volunteers hope to secure grants towards the cost, but estimate that �1,000 must be raised locally. A display with details about the seal matrix can be seen at the museum in Ryder�s Wynd, Richmond.
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