February 22, 2015
Council confirm discovered Magna Carta will return to Sandwich
Kent Online, 19th February 2015
“The Magna Carta will be coming back to the people of Sandwich, the town council has confirmed.
The historic document, worth £10 million, will not be sold after a majority of councillors at the meeting voted to keep it.
Cllr John Bragg said: “It’s our intention to get the Magna Carta and Charter of Forest back to Sandwich and hope that we will be able to exhibit it.
It was found by historian Dr Mark Bateson in the archives at Maidstone, folded inside a Victorian scrapbook.
Cllr Jeremy Watts said: “It is one of the biggest things that has happened to Sandwich in a very long time.
“We shouldn’t make any hasty decisions about it until a working party can consider all the alternatives.”
The council decided a working group consisting of the Mayor of Sandwich Cllr Paul Graeme, deputy mayor Cllr Pip Russell, Cllr David Wood, Cllr John Bragg and archivist Ray Harlow would flesh out the finer details.
Cllr Wood said: “I think that it should stay in Sandwich, that’s very important. The only rush is this exhibition and that will be a big boost for the town.”
He was referring to a free touring exhibition to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, being organised by Visit Kent. The exhibition will visit Faversham, Canterbury, Maidstone, Dover, Rochester and hopefully Sandwich from May to October this year.”
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