Image: Holy Trinity church - memorial - geograph.org.uk - 807543

Description: Holy Trinity Church, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, mural monument, with marble bust, to William Crowe (d.1688), a London merchant and owner of nearby Caister Castle, which he accepted from the Paston family in lieu of a debt. The quasi-canting arms of Crowe above are: Azure, a chevron argent between three cocks or. The bust was stolen from the church in 2014, as reported in the Great Yarmouth Mercury newspaper on 9 May 2014 (which also published this file image by Evelyn Simak)[1]: "Thieves who stole an antique memorial bust from Caister village church have damaged the “historic identity” of the seaside community. Rev Tim Thompson, rector at Holy Trinity Church in Caister said the daring daylight raid saw the 17th century marble bust toppled from its plinth and rushed away amid the comings and goings of visitors on Wednesday. From the pattern of dust it appeared the substantial object had been laid on the altar and wrapped before it was removed. The life-size likeness of William Crowe, a London merchant who took ownership of nearby Caister Castle from the famous Paston family in settlement of a debt, had sat in the same spot for over 300 years. But once cleaned and gleaming white, it would look like any other generic, dignified-looking male bust, from 17th century London since all the inscriptions were on surrounding scrolls. Having it unceremoniously ripped from its plinth was an affront to the village and its historic identity, Mr Thompson said, adding he was thankful nothing of “the main business” of the church had been damaged. “Nothing of a sacrilegious nature has happened except the straightforward theft of an antique. It is not deeply emotional, but it is an offence to the community at large. Part of its history and heritage has been taken, along with its historic identity.” From what could be pieced together it looked like a targeted job by professionals, Mr Thompson said. The previous week two men had visited the church taking a special interest in the bust, even drawing up a chair so they could take a closer look. “It was all properly worked out,” he said. “They came back with the appropriate equipment, steps over their shoulder, barrow behind them and marched into the church. “The casual visitor would have thought they were just taking it away for restoration. If they had run in to me they might have had to make a quick exit and left it sitting on my toes.” The theft took place between 2pm and 7pm and was discovered by choir members arriving for practice. The bust is mentioned in English Heritage’s listing description."
Title: Holy Trinity church - memorial - geograph.org.uk - 807543
Credit: From geograph.org.uk; transferred by User:Kurpfalzbilder.de using geograph_org2commons.
Author: Evelyn Simak
Permission: Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
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