Flemish helmet banned from sale by the Church of England

A Flemish helmet dating to around 1500, that once hung above the tomb of Sir Thomas Hooke, who was buried in 1677 in the church of Wootton St Lawrence, in Hampshire was sold for £45,000 at an auction at Thomas Del Mar in 2010 to an American collector.

After the Winchester diocese’s consistory court's clearance on the sale in August 2013, the decision was appealed at the highest Anglican court, the Court of the Arches, in Canterbury, which ruled against the sale on 15 April.

“I am delighted that the court has reaffirmed the principle that treasures from churches, including those on loan to museums, should only be sold in exceptional circumstances” said Anne Sloman, the council’s chairwoman.