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Stolen 'holy grail' handed in to police Stolen 'holy grail' handed in to police
(about 5 hours later)
A relic believed by some to be the holy grail, stolen from a home nearly a year ago, has been recovered by police. A very modern quest – involving television appeals, a cash reward and a shadowy meeting between police detectives and a go-between in a layby – has led to the recovery of the “Welsh holy grail”.
West Mercia police said it had tracked down the Nanteos Cup and returned it to its rightful owners. The Nanteos Cup, a wooden drinking bowl believed by some to have magical, healing properties, was stolen during the burglary of an elderly woman’s home in Herefordshire a year ago.
The wooden cup, which measures 10cm by 8.5cm, is believed to have been stolen during a burglary in Weston under Penyard, near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, in July last year. Since then, detectives have been investigating its disappearance along with a string of thefts of precious artefacts stolen from churches across the west of England, and Wales. They have appealed for information about it on BBC’s Crimewatch and a £2,000 reward has been offered.
Police set up a specialist team to hunt down the relic, and the case featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme. A police spokesman said the coverage had resulted in “several significant lines of inquiry from anonymous sources”. Police have been close to getting to the cup before now. They heard at one point that it was being passed around the bar of a west country pub, but by the time they arrived it had been spirited away.
The cup was handed to officers “on neutral ground” in a pre-arranged meeting on Friday 19 June. The investigation into the culprits of the theft is continuing. But now, West Mercia detectives revealed on Friday that the cup has been recovered. Officially police have said only that it handed to officers on “neutral ground” during a pre-arranged meeting last week. A police spokesman said: “An anonymous source came forward which resulted in it being physically handed in. We take the theft of any item very seriously.”
The spokesman said: “An anonymous source came forward after seeing the Crimewatch appeal which resulted in it being physically handed in. Some people may class it as the holy grail, but that’s only speculation. As far as the police are concerned this is a treasured object, and we are happy to have reunited it with its rightful owners. We take the theft of any item very seriously.” Det Insp Martyn Barnes, the investigating officer, said: “I would like to thank everyone who helped us with our inquiries. Following the recovery of the cup, no arrests have been made and inquiries into the theft continue. However, we are very pleased it has now been returned to its rightful owners.”
DI Martyn Barnes, the investigating officer, said: “I would like to thank everyone who helped us with our inquiries and who shared the appeal, which significantly aided us in recovering the cup. Following the recovery of the cup, no arrests have been made and inquiries into the theft continue. However, we are very pleased it has now been returned to its rightful owners.” It is understood that earlier this month police received an anonymous call from someone who said he had not stolen the cup but could get it and return it. The man told police to meet him in a layby in south Wales and appeared out of the shadows to hand it over. “It was all a bit James Bond,” said a police source.
The object was described by police as a “medieval mazer bowl, a wooden cup or chalice”. It was stored in a blue velvet bag. According to one legend, the cup was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea after the death of Christ. After a sojourn at Glastonbury it was taken by a group of Somerset monks to Wales and given a home at Nanteos Mansion, near Aberystwyth.
The family that owns it had offered a £1,000 reward for its safe return, and police put up an additional £1,000 for its recovery and the successful conviction of the thieves. The police declined to be drawn into discussions of what the Nanteos Cup actually is. They describe it as a “treasured object” rather than the grail – but do believe it is from medieval rather than biblical times.
Some believe the cup to be the one from which Christ drank at the Last Supper. At the time it was stolen it is thought to have been on loan to an ill woman for its supposed healing powers. What is certain is that it was leant to an elderly, ailing woman in the village of Weston-under-Penyard on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border in 2014 because of its supposed healing powers. A local newspaper carried a report on it, soon after which it was stolen.
The cup was taken from the woman’s home while she was in hospital, in what police believe was a targeted theft. The family which owns the relic had offered £1,000 reward for its safe return with an additional £1,000 put up by police for its recovery and the successful conviction of the thieves. No money was handed over in the layby.
The recovery of the cup is the latest triumph for a small team of West Mercia detectives working on an operation codenamed Icarus. Detectives have executed warrants on addresses in London, Kent and Wales and found objects including statues, stained glass, stonework, friezes, brasses and bibles, seemingly systematically stripped from churches over the last decade.
Among the artefacts discovered so far are oak panels that were part of the Torbryan screen, stolen from a Devon church in 2013 and considered of national importance because they were one of the few such objects to have escaped the destruction of the Reformation.