Unrecovered edit
| Description | Date stolen | Location of theft | Details | Estimated value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brass eagle lectern | 26-27 May 2016 | St John the Baptist Church, Newtown, UK | Between 6pm on 26 May and 11am on 27 May, the lectern was stolen alongside the church door.[1] | £10,000[1] |
| Golden eagle lectern | 1 May 2022 | St John the Evangelist Church, Kingsdown, UK | A gold lectern and its stand, which had been gifted to the church over 100 years prior and was covered in semi-precious stones, was stolen by 25-year-old Robert Watson and an accomplice. £1,600 in damage was also causd to the church doors and to the Victorian floor tiles when the lectern was dragged over them. Police were able to recover the stand section, but there was no trace of its eagle-shaped top section. Watson, who was in debt at the time, was arrested on suspicion of burglary in connection with the incident and jailed for 12 months, making no profit from the theft.[2][3] | |
| 9-11 April 2023 | St Mary’s Church, Burstall, UK | A small brass lectern measuring 46 cm and Victorian cross, kept in a locked vestry, was stolen.[4] | ||
| Brass eagle lectern | 23 June 2023 | All Saints Church, Pidley, UK | A 100kg microdotted and inscribed brass eagle lectern which was initially bought in 1921. It was stolen alongside a cast iron safe when it was removed from its concrete plinth. A Bible which had been gifted to the church had been "carefully taken off the lectern and placed on the side." Cambridgeshire Police explored all lines of inquiry and identified no suspects.[5][6] | "several thousand pounds"[5] |
| Wooden eagle lectern | 16 December 2023 | Church of St. Swithin, Baumber, UK | An ornate 19th century lectern, donated to the church by a member of St Swithin's congregation in memory of her son who died in 1891, was stolen during a break-in alongside £12 of cash from a collection.[7] |
Recovered edit
| Description | Date stolen | Date recovered | Location of theft | Details | Estimated value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkeld Lectern | 7 May 1544;
30 November 1984 |
May 1999 | Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, UK;
St Stephen's Church, St Albans, UK |
The lectern was first stolen from Hollyrood Abbey in 1544 by an English army led by the Earl of Hertford; it was taken to St Stephen's Church, St Albans.[8] It experienced a failed theft in 1972.[9] Over 400 years later, on Saint Andrew's Night 1984, it was successfully stolen for a second time from the church by the Scottish nationalist group Siol nan Gaidheal,[10][11] and is believed to have been hidden for 15 years in a West Highland grave before it was anonymously delivered to Netherbow Arts Centre in early May 1999.[12][13] | |
| Brass eagle lectern | September 2011 | January 2012 | Holy Cross Church, Ashton Keynes, UK | An ornate brass lectern from Wiltshire, UK, was the only item stolen from the church, potentially in broad daylight, and was thought to have been melted down after its theft. It was discovered at a Romanian antique fair, identified by its inscription, and returned to the church via Interpol.[14][15][16] | £2,000-£3,000[14][16] |
| Barack Obama's Presidential lectern | 17 October 2011 | 17 October 2011, 12:30 p.m. | Virginia Center Commons Courtyard Marriott, Richmond, US | A van containing President Obama's lectern, teleprompter, audio equipment and presidential seals worth $200,000 in total were stolen from a parking lot. The vehicle was later recovered at a Holiday Inn Express near Richmond International Airport,[17] and Eric Brown, who had stolen the vehicle and also sold some of the stolen material to pawn shops, was given 7 years in prison.[18] | |
| Lectern of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | 6 January 2021 | 7 January 2021 | United States Capitol, Washington D.C., US | During the January 6 United States Capitol attack, rioter Adam Christian Johnson found the lectern usually used by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, near a spiral staircase. He carried it to the Capitol rotunda, and was photographed holding it there.[19] After the attack, the location of the lectern was not immediately known,[20] though it was found the next day in the red corridor of the Senate wing near the rotunda[21] and placed in the Capitol's Rayburn Room on January 13 for an engrossment ceremony of the House impeachment resolution.[22] | Over $1,000[21] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Brass eagle lectern stolen stolen from Newtown church". BBC News. May 29, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "Man arrested after gold Eagle-shaped lectern stolen from Kent church". ITV News. May 5, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Roberts, Julia (February 22, 2024). "Debt-ridden dad stole 'irreplaceable' artefact to sell as scrap". Kent Online. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ "Police appeal after Suffolk church artefacts stolen". BBC News. April 17, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "Brass eagle lectern stolen from church in Pidley, Cambridgeshire". BBC News. June 29, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "First World War lectern stolen from Cambridgeshire church". ITV News. June 28, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Appeal after Baumber St Swithin's Church eagle lectern stolen". BBC News. December 19, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "A lost Scots treasure emerges from hiding Dunkeld Lectern makes capital return". The Herald. May 3, 1999. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ "Holyrood Bird comes home to roost Lectern gifted by Pope in 1498 is returned after theft". The Herald. December 17, 2005. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Holyrood Bird comes home to roost Lectern gifted by Pope in 1498 is returned after theft". The Herald. December 17, 2005. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Ascherson, Neal (2014). Stone Voices: The Search For Scotland. Granta Books. pp. 20–22. ISBN 9781783780068.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Jack (May 6, 1999). "Britain Votes: Lectern returns Phoenix-like 500 years after it was". The Independent. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ "A lost Scots treasure emerges from hiding". Herald Scotland. May 3, 1999. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Lectern stolen from Wiltshire church spotted in Romania". BBC News. January 4, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ Bowater, Donna (January 8, 2012). "Brass lectern stolen from Wiltshire church turns up at Romanian antique fair". The Telegraph. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Shariatmadari, David (January 25, 2012). "Thieves seeking silver, brass and lead prey on churches". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "Obama's teleprompter, lectern stolen in Va". NBC News. October 18, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Jouvenal, Justin (March 11, 2013). "Theft of Obama's teleprompter, podium gets man 7-year prison term". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Davies, Emily; Jackman, Tom (November 22, 2021). "Florida man photographed with Pelosi's lectern on Jan. 6 pleads guilty". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin; Luscombe, Richard (January 9, 2021). "Police arrest man who carried Pelosi lectern and horned Capitol intruder". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Pereira, Ivan (January 9, 2021). "Alleged lectern thief, horn-helmeted suspect arrested in connection with Capitol riot". ABC News. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Robinson, Adia (January 13, 2021). "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern, stolen in Capitol riot, returned". ABC News. Retrieved March 7, 2024.