Last Sunday the Parish Priest of Bungay, a former Abbot of Downside, Fr Charles Fitzgerald Lombard made an announcement at the notices. He said that sadly the original bronze knobs and handles from the church had been stolen. The church, described as 'the most ornate church in all East Anglia' was built in the late nineteenth century and listed by English heritage as Grade II* is a flourishing church in one of the prettiest towns in the country.

The church designed by Bernard Smith is a seriously thorough example of Romanesque architecture with every part of the church carefully designed. The loss of these ornate handles was a huge loss to this extremely thoughtful piece of design.

Thieves had unscrewed the handles and knobs leaving two sad looking gates. But what had happened to them? Had they been melted down for scrap? Had they been sold to an antique dealer? Were they on eBay?

Two days later I visited the well known architectural salvage company, Mongers in Hingham near Norwich. I was actually after bathroom knobs and handles. After purchasing not only knobs but also an amazing 17th century and a mediaeval door and several Georgian wrought iron panels at several thousand pounds (not unusual at Mongers) I asked Sam Coster, the proprietor of Mongers, if he would look out for anyone selling a pair of bronze Victorian knobs.

He looked at me quizzically. In fact he stared at me for several moments before returning to his computer. 'When did you say these knobs were stolen?'. 'The week before last' I said. 'Hmmm' he murmured. After a moment he brought up a photo of a handsome pair of knobs and handles. Having seen the handles on the church itself which hadn't been stolen, I immediately recognised the similarity. 'That's them' I exclaimed. He had purchased them from someone who had bought them from a car boot sale. Sam had sent them off to his restorer for cleaning but has promised to stop the patina of over a century of patina from being removed.

On returning home I called Fr Charles and emailed him the photos of the handles. 'That's them!' he concurred.

I only occasionally go to St Edmunds, Bungay as I also live in London and often go to Westminster Cathedral. Sometimes I go to St Benets in Beccles as they have an evening mass. So I hadn't been to St Edmund's for several weeks. So what a coincidence that I heard the announcement about the handles. I only go to Mongers maybe three times a year and I only thought about the handles after an hour of shopping at Mongers. And the chance of the handles turning up at Mongers? The chances are one in a million.

A minor Easter miracle. I didn't even ask St Anthony although I suppose subconsciously I did pray for their return.
 
With thanks to, and written by, Peter Sheppard, historic buildings restorer and chairman of the Catholic Herald. Btw Peter please could you let your readership know about Salvo Theft Alerts, which Sam Coster and many more of the trade subscribe to, and receive in eSalvo. Salvo Theft Alerts are free for thefts from churches and war memorials - TK