Historic window of Rye church badly damaged by vandals

A church in Rye has been desecrated by vandals.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Sep 2016, 12:35 BST
Updated 4th Oct 2016, 13:44 BST

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The boarded up stained glass windowThe boarded up stained glass window
The boarded up stained glass window

Historic St Mary’s Church, in Church Square, had one of its most valuable stained glass windows smashed and removed.

Police launched an appeal today (Wednesday, September 14) in a bid to bring the culprits to justice.

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They said the damage is believed to have occurred between 10.45pm and 8.45am on the night of Monday, August 29 and Tuesday, August 30.

Police are continuing to investigate but have so far had no leads as yet.

The 12th century parish church is in the centre of Rye and the damaged window was dedicated to the memory of Dr John Adamson and his wife, Jane.

It was given by members of their family in about 1882.

It is the church’s oldest window and was the work of C.E Kempe. The lower, damaged part of the window was a vivid representation of the Lord giving sight to a blind man.

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Daryl Holter, police community support officer, who is also a heritage crime officer, said: “The damage to the window is appalling, and irreversible so far as its originality is concerned.

“To repair both the glass and stone will be both extremely costly and inconvenient.

“It saddens me to think that our heritage can be so mindlessly damaged in this way, preventing future generations from enjoying and understanding it.”

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to email [email protected] or phone 101, quoting serial 286 of 30/08.

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Related topics:RyeSt Mary's ChurchPolice