Coping stones worth about £2,000 were stolen from an historic estate.
Police are appealing for information after 175 stones were taken from the wall surrounding Walsingham estate park overnight on Thursday, July 2.
The triangular coping stones were stolen from the top of the wall around the estate in Common Place.
The theft has left a gap on the flint wall at the estate.
John Downing, the estate’s land agent, said: “Each coping stone is worth from £10 to £15 each, so 175 would be worth about £2,000.
“The cost of refitting them will be significant as they have damaged the wall in places and appropriate traffic control is likely to be needed.
“We think that the thieves would have had an open truck or a lorry and that, maybe, three of them did it. The stones are 16 inches wide.
“I don’t suppose we can buy them back, as this is an historic park and the stones would probably date back to about 1880. We will have to find some temporary expedient.
“We had coping stones stolen from a different part of the wall quite recently.
“The police caught the culprits then, and they were fined by the courts. Sometimes people come into our community and think they can help themselves to stuff.
“We have also had snowdrops stolen from the estate. We do try to look after this place.
“Norfolk police have been very helpful and we are hoping that the stolen stones may be tracked down and recovered, as was the case with the last incident.
“We have also put the word out to reclaim yards that the stones were taken.”
MORE: Historic stones taken from the Walsingham Estate in north Norfolk
The garden and grounds at the estate are famous for the ruins of the medieval Priory of our Lady of Walsingham. In the late 17th century a country house, known as Walsingham Abbey, was built over part of the ruins.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious or has any information regarding the stones, should call PC Jason Pegden on 101, quoting crime reference 36/44097/20. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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