Missing Royton Hall relic turns up... on Ebay!

MYSTERY: the plaque

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A 400-YEAR-OLD relic from Royton Hall which disappeared over 20 years ago has turned up on Ebay.

The stone plaque — which bears the coat of arms of the Percival family, which owned the hall in the 17th century — was mounted on the corner of the hall on Shepherd Street in the late 1800s.

The plaque went missing during renovation work 20 years ago and hadn’t been seen until a sharp-eyed Chronicle reader spotted it for sale for £2,900. No bids were received and the plaque remains in the mystery seller’s hands

Royton Local History Society launched a campaign to find the plaque in 2001 and vice chairman Doug Ashmore led an archaeological dig at Royton Hall in 2005.

“I was very surprised to see it for sale on Ebay,” he said. “Anything to do with Royton history is very important to the people of Royton. When the historical society did the dig there was a lot of interest shown by local people so I think it would be nice if it was retained in the town.”