A HISTORIC bell dating back to the 19th century has been stolen from a retirement home in Alcester.

An appeal has been launched to find the original chapel bell of Oversley House, which was stolen overnight in the early hours of Saturday, March 27.

The antique bell, believed to have been made in 1837, was located in the garden of the retirement complex off Fields Park Drive and was chained to a wooden frame.

Steven Woodley of SecureLets, managing agent of Oversley House, described the theft as “really sad.”

He said: “The strange thing is, they have taken it by undoing the bolts on the clasp.”

He says there is no CCTV where the bell was stolen.

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Mr Woodley believes the bell was from the original chapel of the historic house, which is now a communal lounge.

He added: “There was one being sold on eBay which was very similar for over a grand.”

One Facebook user said: “That’s a major piece of local history lost.”

Police have launched an appeal following the theft and people with information or CCTV footage are asked to contact them on 101. The police incident number for this theft is 0160 27/03/2021.