{"id":556298,"date":"2026-05-01T18:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556298"},"modified":"2026-05-01T18:39:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:39:46","slug":"sixty-years-ago-a-boy-took-medieval-tiles-from-an-english-monastery-he-has-just-returned-the-stolen-keepsakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556298","title":{"rendered":"Sixty Years Ago, a Boy Took Medieval Tiles From an English Monastery. He Has Just Returned the Stolen Keepsakes."},"content":{"rendered":"

A sinister visage and an elegant dragon embellish the shattered clay tiles dating back to the late 13th or early 14th century. These were discovered hidden in an old toffee tin.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Sonja\n <\/div>\n
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Sonja Anderson<\/p>\n

| Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

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The shattered clay tiles were stored in a toffee tin for almost sixty years.
\n English Heritage<\/span>
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In the 1960s, nine-year-old Simon White explored a medieval English monastery with his family. Motivated by his father, White managed to lift some of the historic site\u2019s 700-year-old floor tiles to keep as mementos. At home, he placed them inside an old toffee tin for safekeeping. There, the tiles remained, forgotten, for nearly six decades.<\/p>\n

Recently, White\u2014now 68\u2014was organizing his belongings when he stumbled upon the tin. Initially, he couldn\u2019t recall the origins of the red clay tile shards, decorated with a grotesque face and a dragon.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, my mother maintained very thorough diaries written in delicate, spindly script,\u201d White tells ITV News\u2019 Mark Gough. \u201cSo I revisited them \u2026 and pinpointed a day in 1967, a summer day, when we visited Wenlock Priory. I thought, \u2018This must be the best guess.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Simon White and his father, Clifford White, at an unidentified location in 1967<\/p>\n

Simon White<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Situated in the West Midlands county of Shropshire, the priory was established more than 1,300 years ago as an Anglo-Saxon monastery, later refounded in the 11th century as a Cluniac monastery. It was among many historic places that White\u2019s parents brought him to during his formative years.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, of course, there was no visitor center or CCTV, and you could roam around these sites freely, without charge,\u201d White tells the Telegraph. \u201c[My father] literally stood over me while encouraging me to take these tiles; I took three of them\u2014which, looking back, was a terrible act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon rediscovering the tiles and their origins, White reached out to English Heritage, the charity managing Wenlock Priory and other historical locales across the nation. Matty Cambridge, an assistant curator at English Heritage, stated that the organization is \u201cexcited to witness the safe return of these historical pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTiles featuring these designs are only recognized at Haughmond Abbey, Bridgnorth Friary and Wenlock Priory and would have been produced locally in Shropshire,\u201d Cambridge explains. \u201cSince Bridgnorth Friary has no intact tile and was excavated after Simon\u2019s visit \u2026 and Haughmond Abbey only has a small patch of tile remaining at the site, we can attribute the tiles found by Mr. White to Wenlock Priory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Simon White and Matty Cambridge, an assistant curator at English Heritage, at Wenlock Priory<\/p>\n

English Heritage<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The history of the site dates back to the late seventh century C.E., when it was founded by Merewalh, the ruler of Magonsaete. Magonsaete was a subkingdom of Mercia, one of the most formidable kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. For centuries, Wenlock hosted a \u201cdual house,\u201d accommodating both nuns and monks. Among its abbesses was princess Milburga, the daughter of Merewalh, who was later venerated as a saint.<\/p>\n

In 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy, France, invaded England and defeated its king, Harold Godwinson. This initiated the Norman Conquest, a crucial era in English history characterized by rising French influence\u2014which impacted Wenlock. Monks from La Charit\u00e9-sur-Loire, France, came to Shropshire, transforming the priory into a Cluniac monastery. Favoring ornate decoration, the monks replaced the Anglo-Saxon church with a grand new abbey constructed between 1225 and 1260.<\/p>\n

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English Heritage assistant curator Matty Cambridge inspecting the tiled floor<\/p>\n

English Heritage<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Did you know? The Dissolution of the monasteries<\/p>\n

From 1536 to 1540, Henry VIII seized control of England\u2019s monasteries, abbeys, and religious establishments to acquire their substantial wealth and land and to assert the authority of his new Church of England. Wenlock Priory capitulated to the crown in 1540.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

White\u2019s tiles are remnants of the floor of this 13th-century church and library, which now stands in fragmented ruins. In the 20th century, conservators restored its floor and left some tiles loose, allowing White to collect some broken ones in the 1960s, as reported by ITV News\u2019 Stacey Foster.<\/p>\n

The tiles White has returned are significant not only for their history. The dragon piece is particularly unique: Cambridge notes that researchers have not identified that motif elsewhere in Wenlock\u2019s flooring. Furthermore, due to their prolonged storage in a toffee tin, these artifacts are in remarkably good condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to be able to hold them and truly appreciate the intricate details, as they are beautifully preserved,\u201d Cambridge tells ITV\u2019s Gough. \u201cEspecially in contrast to some of the ones on the pavement here, which have clearly been walked on and exposed to the elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The tile flooring was laid in the late 13th or early 14th century.<\/p>\n

English Heritage<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

White expressed his \u201cabsolute delight\u201d in returning the medieval tiles. According to his statement, they will be housed at Wenlock Priory and may undergo further examination by English Heritage archaeology researchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe delicious irony of this situation is that, now in retirement, one of my hobbies is archaeology, and the local society I\u2019ve joined will likely view this unfavorably!\u201d White remarks in his statement. \u201cSo, after almost sixty years, it is only fitting and proper that the tiles make their way back home.\u201d<\/p>\n