Brutal heritage crime attack takes place at Pendock church

It was discovered last week that Pendock church (no dedication) has become one of the latest victims of heritage crime in the country.

During the raid, which took place within the last two weeks, the wall safe was gouged out of the 900 year old historic walls of the church. The wall safe had recently been emptied by a member of staff so we know that the thieves didn’t steel much money.

However the criminals went on a rampage inside the church where they unsuccessfully attempted to remove a memorial plaque dedicated to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker; who was a follower of Darwin, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew for 20 years and President of the Royal Society, 1872-77. The wall surrounding the memorial has been damaged and a wooden panel beneath it has also been stolen.

The little Georgian organ, rumoured to have been played by that the famous English composer Sir Edward Elgar, in the church has now also been rendered unusable. Pipes and other parts of the organ were removed and damaged by the vandals. Last restored in 1978 and regularly maintained since, the organ was used and enjoyed for recitals in the church. This is a devastating loss to not only the local community but also to our national heritage.

It was also discovered that a ladder was placed in the tower up to the belfry and although we do not believe any bells were stolen, we are investigating further to determine whether any damage has been caused to the bells or their fixtures.

We are currently investigating the total cost of the damage, however we currently estimate the cost of damage to be significant.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact West Mercia Police quoting incident number 551/s/181019