Thieves rip up 100-year-old paving stones at Bolton Parish Church

9:22am Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News

Thieves rip up 100-year-old paving stones at Bolton Parish Church Thieves rip up 100-year-old paving stones at Bolton Parish Church

A CONGREGATION has been left “horrified” after thieves stole valuable 100-year-old paving stones from Bolton Parish Church.

Twenty-five slabs of York paving stone have been ripped up from the path leading to the church.

The theft happened between 5pm last Wednesday and 11.30am on Thursday.

The theft of the stones, which can fetch up to £90 per square yard at reclaimers, has caused outrage amongst members of the congregation.

The vicar of Bolton, the Rev Matthew Thompson, said: “It is very unfortunate and frustrating this has happened because it is such a beautiful spot.

“The church and the yard is for the whole community and not just for our benefit.

“For it to be disfigured in that way is very frustrating. It will cost a great deal to make it safe and put it right.

“The stones are worth quite a lot of money and whoever did it has left quite a mess. We had to take swift action to make the area safe and fill in the space with gravel with the help of Bolton Council.”

The church was forced to install a roof alarm six months ago following a spate of lead thefts.

It is hoped the culprits of the latest theft, which took place between 5pm on Wednesday and 11.30am on Thursday, will be caught on CCTV footage from camera’s either on Silverwell Street, Church Gate or the system covering the church yard.

Cllr John Walsh, deputy church warden, said: “York paving stones are highly sought after and valuable. Everyone is horrified someone could commit this crime.

“The path forms a historic setting for one of the most beautiful buildings in the town. Those stones are more than 100 years old and we will never be able to put back that what was taken away.”

The theft comes just over a month after 400-year-old paving stones were stolen from grade II listed Haulgh Hall in Hilden Street. The historic building is thought to be the oldest in Bolton.

Bolton Civic Trust chairman, Brian Tetlow, said he has also fallen victim to paving stone thieves.

Mr Tetlow added: “It can be quite an expensive operation to source authentic flags from reclaimers, which is why they are stolen.

“I have had some stolen myself four times over the years. It is happening all over the place unfortunately and it is very sad that it is happening to historic buildings in Bolton.”

A police spokesperson said: “Our inquiries into this incident are ongoing.”

Comments(55)

oftbewildered2 says...
9:33am Wed 30 Jan 13

a sad sign of the times - no respect for anything. Hope CCTV catches the vehicle.

Report this post »

zoomzam says...
9:58am Wed 30 Jan 13

This is sick! Desperate and sick people around....don't want to work! Sad times!

Report this post »

xxenigmaxx says...
10:29am Wed 30 Jan 13

Absolutely disgusting people have no respect anymore. Now were where the police why this was happening??? Eating hobnobs I suppose!!!! and no one saw a thing as usual I guess in the time scale it took to lift all those flags or bothered to report it if they did. Lets hope they catch them sooner rather than later

Report this post »

xxenigmaxx says...
10:29am Wed 30 Jan 13

Absolutely disgusting people have no respect anymore. Now were where the police why this was happening??? Eating hobnobs I suppose!!!! and no one saw a thing as usual I guess in the time scale it took to lift all those flags or bothered to report it if they did. Lets hope they catch them sooner rather than later

Report this post »

MarkP27 says...
10:50am Wed 30 Jan 13

I am truly stunned by this story - the thieves must have the only vehicle on record to enter Bolton town centre and escape without a parking ticket!!!

Report this post »

Harry-Joe says...
11:00am Wed 30 Jan 13

I bet they are back to take the rest over the next few weeks.

Report this post »

mrdaviddixon says...
11:01am Wed 30 Jan 13

Usual culprits live in caravans

Report this post »

berushka says...
11:04am Wed 30 Jan 13

MarkP27 wrote:
I am truly stunned by this story - the thieves must have the only vehicle on record to enter Bolton town centre and escape without a parking ticket!!!
Very good point! with all the traffic restrictions, and the obvious time and noise that would be involved, I am surprised that no-one saw this happening. Is Bolton dead at this time of evening? Let's hope these thieving morons are caught, but one might have to look along the East Lancashire Road for clues as to their final destination

Report this post »

Hough64 says...
11:32am Wed 30 Jan 13

mrdaviddixon wrote:
Usual culprits live in caravans
Do you know something we dont? I suggest you tell the police seeing as you do!!

Report this post »

cliff4treasurer says...
12:21pm Wed 30 Jan 13

I suspect the police already know so no need to tell them.

Report this post »

marco999 says...
1:07pm Wed 30 Jan 13

So very sad that this can happen. Dearly hope the scum can be caught.

Report this post »

boltonnut says...
1:43pm Wed 30 Jan 13

When ever I visit my home town of Bolton I take a stroll around the Parish church.There's a resting place for a man killed by ( savage wild Indians) in America,a resting place for a man killed by a savage wild lion in Africa.In other words alot of history is contained within the church grounds.Not only is this a sacred place to some it's also an icon to the town,it can be seen from miles around.The scumans who stole the stones obviously have no scruples of any kind.The sad part is,if and when these @sshole are caught they will receive the cursory penalty 100 hours community work 100 quid fine, payable out of the moneythey made from the stones.Sad.

Report this post »

davoovad says...
4:15pm Wed 30 Jan 13

mrdaviddixon wrote:
Usual culprits live in caravans
Yep....

Report this post »

questionairre says...
4:31pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Usual culprits live in caravans

Yep

Me too
No proof, but has the hallmarks of transit van driving, caravan living, rubbish tipping, hi-viz wearing section of our community.

Report this post »

Wigan Trotter says...
4:37pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Tinkers or East Europeans in my book!

Report this post »

Citizen Cane says...
7:45pm Wed 30 Jan 13

marco999 wrote:
So very sad that this can happen. Dearly hope the scum can be caught.
should be able to when the culprit is towing...

Report this post »

mrdaviddixon says...
8:44pm Wed 30 Jan 13

As everyone says 'it is very sad' but Bolton Council have done far worse over recent years demolishing buildings or letting them go to ruin so they have an excuse to get rid of and sell the land to the highest bidder,
I once contacted Bolton Council to ask which buildings were due to be demolished so I could go photograph them before work was to take place...they said no demolitions were planned a couple of months later two schools and a mill were gone, luckily I had already been to photograph them, sometimes when the Heritage Society get wind of a demolition and take it to court the building gets burned by some arsonists and then has to be demolished to make it safe......who were the arsonists employed by ??????

Report this post »

Comment777 says...
9:06pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Mr Hitler had some very good ideas...pity some of them did not come to fruition, this kind of thing would not happen if things had turned out differently!!!!

Report this post »

boltonnut says...
10:00pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Comment777, I totaly agree with you.Iv'e often got in trouble by voiceing this opinion.Some people take it as pro nazi feelings,it's not,it is the point that Adolph would have let things get so bad.My father who served in WW11,had similar feelings I believe.World leaders today **** foot around,I say drop the hammer when necessary,wipe out the crap.

Report this post »

Andyroost says...
11:03pm Wed 30 Jan 13

would it not have been better to check the cctv and put the pics on here to let people identify the scumbags, someone is buying these and the van should be on their cctv, problem is most of these yards are just as corrupt.

Report this post »

ARBEE says...
12:01am Thu 31 Jan 13

A friend in yorkshire has a scrap yard,
when he takes scrap from people he
weighs it, tells them how much it is worth then gives a receipt,and then tells
to come back in a week for the cash,he
reckons his business has dropped off
considerably,but what he takes is honest scrap.

Report this post »

yonmons says...
8:34am Thu 31 Jan 13

MarkP27 wrote:
I am truly stunned by this story - the thieves must have the only vehicle on record to enter Bolton town centre and escape without a parking ticket!!!
Sign of the times, and a good point well made ! It is beyond me how this can happen and perhaps shows up the fact that there are no Police Patrols about on nights, people probably think there are lots of officers about but alas that is not the case. Thieves are thieves and will take anything if its not nailed down

Report this post »

berushka says...
10:32am Thu 31 Jan 13

Wigan Trotter wrote:
Tinkers or East Europeans in my book!
explain yourself! Eastern Europeans are no worse than you, and in a lot of cases, far better. Crime in my part of Eastern Europe is almost zero, pity we cannot say the same about your neck of the woods, because without daily reports of theft, rapes, mugging, benefit fraud, an offender dropping a toffee paper in the town centre, brawls in pubs, council official fiddling expences etc. etc., there would hardly be anything to fill the BN!

Report this post »

mrdaviddixon says...
12:22pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Best thing for the church now is to get a dealer in and sell the remaining slabs for a nice tidy profit and renew the path with a safer surface and use the money for repairs, might as well because they will be back for the rest.
At the end of the day 100 years old is not all that old even though they are much sought after, when the church was rebuilt in the 1860s these flags were not even there so they are comparatively new compared to other things in the church yard, Bolton Council does it all the time !!!

Report this post »

myfanwy7 says...
2:33pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Comment777 wrote:
Mr Hitler had some very good ideas...pity some of them did not come to fruition, this kind of thing would not happen if things had turned out differently!!!!
Are you referring to genocide, illegal invasions, eugenics or the establishment of a police state? Yes Mr Hitler was full of good ideas! You sir win the award for the most moronic comment of the week, which is saying something on a site like this.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
6:22pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Good luck to them, pity they didn't take the whole church to prevent it spreading its stinking, vile religious practices.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
6:53pm Thu 31 Jan 13

In fact, if the church was removed then all those self-serving, self-richeous a****holes who use it can get off their fat, lazy backsides and go do some work in the town centre instead of standing in front of some pompous baboon dressed in ridiculous vestments trying to gain favour from some mythical being in the sky because they're too stupid ot too scared to break free and think for themselves.

Report this post »

genesis22 says...
8:38pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Bolton Police previously had 5 foot patrols on town centre beats, meaning an officer would pass by the church at least every 2 hours. What is the current number of foot patrols ? possibly nil - everything done by mobile patrols reacting to incidents after the event - useless policy

Report this post »

ARBEE says...
1:11am Fri 1 Feb 13

Would Kiddick have the guts to rubbish the imported radicals, he would need
round the clock protection like Salmond Rushdie, put your brain into gear before making remarks like this you dork.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
9:23am Fri 1 Feb 13

ARBEE wrote:
Would Kiddick have the guts to rubbish the imported radicals, he would need round the clock protection like Salmond Rushdie, put your brain into gear before making remarks like this you dork.
nob

Report this post »

mrdaviddixon says...
9:36am Fri 1 Feb 13

If Kiddick is only commenting to wind you all up then its better just to leave him alone, if his views are real then no doubt he will get dealt with sometime in the future

Report this post »

berushka says...
1:50pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Kiddick has a point, though. There is no such thing as a god, just an invention by man to scare and control the simple-minded serfs. Today, the religions are run by the simple-minded folk! But they can think enough to beg borrow or steal money, for the upkeep of their buildings as they say, yet some of them are the richest organisations on the planet. Just thin of all the housing that could be provided if these monstrous churchy buildings were redeveloped.

Report this post »

colournature says...
3:18pm Fri 1 Feb 13

obviously people have no respect for our history anymore, when you find out that people in your family tree dug stones up more that 100 years ago in quarries and transported them here , many of them started work abt 13 yrs of age , and many died. i would be very interested to find out about this history here and if anyone in their family can go back and find that their ancestors laid stones in the Parish Church , these stones are probably where our families walked on many years ago to get married and baptised.
I hope that they find the culprits and - how would they have been punished 100 years ago ?

from a historian and fomer researcher

Report this post »

judyben says...
4:40pm Fri 1 Feb 13

berushka wrote:
Kiddick has a point, though. There is no such thing as a god, just an invention by man to scare and control the simple-minded serfs. Today, the religions are run by the simple-minded folk! But they can think enough to beg borrow or steal money, for the upkeep of their buildings as they say, yet some of them are the richest organisations on the planet. Just thin of all the housing that could be provided if these monstrous churchy buildings were redeveloped.
Thanks --what a great idea. Knock down the Parish Church and lots of other fantastic pieces of our architectural heritage (ecclesiastical of course) and /or convert them into flats so that money will go to the real gods in our society--greedy developers and landlords and those who worship money. Perhaps you could try this idea out on the powers that be in the Utopia you have moved to! Sad you do not live and let live even if you do not respect the views of people's faiths (or is it just Christians you like to mock?)

Report this post »

boltonnut says...
5:38pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Zero crime in your part of europe you say berushka,thats aload of crap!For the last six decades eastern europeans have been practicing racial genocide, religious genocide probably the lack of crime is the fact that every one has been murdered or moved to the UK.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
6:56pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Marriage and baptism - those two pillars of our great society. Both ridiculous man-made notions designed to control the stupid, uneducated masses. If the pompous a***e in charge of the church couldn't be bothered to make adequate security provisions then more fool him - perhaps he needed new garish gowns with the cash trawled from the mindless trolls sitting in the pews. Maybe god just needed a new patio? Your god supposedly see everything so it must have seen Groundforce! I guess those bathing in the glory of their god will find that a ridiclulous notion - but thats only because it doesn't fit with their brain-washed, sheep brain mentality. Wow - no lightning bolt yet!

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
6:59pm Fri 1 Feb 13

croak - croak - croak - b******s ! I appear to have been morphed into a frog ! jeez, there must be a god afterall ! eeeyaw eeeeeyaw eeeeeeyaw.

Report this post »

BWFC71 says...
9:26pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Wigan Trotter wrote:
Tinkers or East Europeans in my book!
Or white heterosexual middle-class English scumbags out to make a profit!!!

Report this post »

davoovad says...
10:04pm Fri 1 Feb 13

berushka wrote:
Wigan Trotter wrote:
Tinkers or East Europeans in my book!
explain yourself! Eastern Europeans are no worse than you, and in a lot of cases, far better. Crime in my part of Eastern Europe is almost zero, pity we cannot say the same about your neck of the woods, because without daily reports of theft, rapes, mugging, benefit fraud, an offender dropping a toffee paper in the town centre, brawls in pubs, council official fiddling expences etc. etc., there would hardly be anything to fill the BN!
Tell me if i'm wrong but you dont live in eastern europe and you have lived the vast majority of your life elsewhere, probably in the uk, am i wrong ?

Report this post »

davoovad says...
10:13pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Don Kiddick wrote:
Marriage and baptism - those two pillars of our great society. Both ridiculous man-made notions designed to control the stupid, uneducated masses. If the pompous a***e in charge of the church couldn't be bothered to make adequate security provisions then more fool him - perhaps he needed new garish gowns with the cash trawled from the mindless trolls sitting in the pews. Maybe god just needed a new patio? Your god supposedly see everything so it must have seen Groundforce! I guess those bathing in the glory of their god will find that a ridiclulous notion - but thats only because it doesn't fit with their brain-washed, sheep brain mentality. Wow - no lightning bolt yet!
As for you swampy we get it, you are a new age type person who refuses to be bound by convention, but if i were you i would let the downfall of the christian church take care of itself and start worrying about the mosque's popping up on every other street, now that's frightening !!

Report this post »

berushka says...
10:16am Sat 2 Feb 13

davoovad wrote:
berushka wrote:
Wigan Trotter wrote:
Tinkers or East Europeans in my book!
explain yourself! Eastern Europeans are no worse than you, and in a lot of cases, far better. Crime in my part of Eastern Europe is almost zero, pity we cannot say the same about your neck of the woods, because without daily reports of theft, rapes, mugging, benefit fraud, an offender dropping a toffee paper in the town centre, brawls in pubs, council official fiddling expences etc. etc., there would hardly be anything to fill the BN!
Tell me if i'm wrong but you dont live in eastern europe and you have lived the vast majority of your life elsewhere, probably in the uk, am i wrong ?
yes, you are wrong! I have lived in many parts of the world, but spent the first twenty in Bolton, where I was born. I am saddened by the way Bolton has sunk into the quagmire. Now I reside in Eastern Europe.Here people have a wiser idea of the power of universal thinking and hope, and don't need the jabberings of some pompous, over-dressed geezer telling us how much his god loves us if we have faith in just his religion and no-one else's, and put a few bob in his coffers. And it is true that crime is far far below the level of England, and Bolton in particular, which seems to revel in the daily stories of misery, hardship and despair.

Report this post »

JustBecause says...
12:29pm Sat 2 Feb 13

Who ever it is they are scum, theft is theft, they should get 10years hard labour if caught.

Or chop of a hand

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
1:58pm Sat 2 Feb 13

yeh, that's it - chop off their limbs ! that'll teach the light-fingered tykes! What punishment then for the christians who've killed on a scale hitler couldn't even have dreamt of? what then for pedophile priests? what then for the spread of HIV in and beyond Africa due to the christian stance on condoms? what about the atheist mother theresa and the stolen money she would not return and the sick she needlesly kept in squalor? you sit behind your keyboards whinging about a few stone flags as if it's something important. No-one has commited mass-murder, genocide and theft on the scale of the self-serving religious - christians included. If the pompous fool in charge thinks his religion should be respected by everybody and is above crime and about law - he now knows differently. He might be stupid enough to think his church is sacred, not everybody else does.

Report this post »

rostron says...
7:14pm Sat 2 Feb 13

the sane eastern europeans have shipped the theiving ones to here! They appear on every police programme, As soon as arrested, you get,"I know my rights" . The worst bit is when they use the kids for begging !

Report this post »

ARBEE says...
1:21am Sun 3 Feb 13

Don Kiddick wrote:
croak - croak - croak - b******s ! I appear to have been morphed into a frog ! jeez, there must be a god afterall ! eeeyaw eeeeeyaw eeeeeeyaw.
the asylum should have a head count,
I think they will find one missing.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
10:03pm Sun 3 Feb 13

ARBEE wrote:
Don Kiddick wrote:
croak - croak - croak - b******s ! I appear to have been morphed into a frog ! jeez, there must be a god afterall ! eeeyaw eeeeeyaw eeeeeeyaw.
the asylum should have a head count,
I think they will find one missing.
Ummm, an over-inflated sense of your own importance and value combined with an over-arching air of smuggness - I'm guessing then you're a worshipper. Hallelujah !

Report this post »

colournature says...
11:37pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Least we forget the past...

in the past battles were fought so that people could actually practice Christianity....
im not a really worshipper but i beleive that in things past and that these things should be protected - this is a part of our history and every one in Bolton should recognise that - if they dont , then they havent been educated correctly

Report this post »

ARBEE says...
4:27am Mon 4 Feb 13

Don Kiddick wrote:
ARBEE wrote:
Don Kiddick wrote:
croak - croak - croak - b******s ! I appear to have been morphed into a frog ! jeez, there must be a god afterall ! eeeyaw eeeeeyaw eeeeeeyaw.
the asylum should have a head count,
I think they will find one missing.
Ummm, an over-inflated sense of your own importance and value combined with an over-arching air of smuggness - I'm guessing then you're a worshipper. Hallelujah !
Never been to church in my life dork, who helped you write your last few lines , they appeared almost intelligent.

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
7:33am Mon 4 Feb 13

They still do appear almost intelligent; they have not changed. Clearly, despite your very own personal god complex, the subtleties of grammar remain a mystery to you. It's almost as if you're re-interpreting things to suit your own pre-held notions; those your abusive parents infected you with when you trusted every word they said. Are you sure you are not a self-serving worshipper clamouring for the love and salvation promised by a mythical all-seeing being on the sky? Read Pascal Boyer, he knows more about you than even I do.

Report this post »

boltoncity says...
12:42pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Comment777 wrote:
Mr Hitler had some very good ideas...pity some of them did not come to fruition, this kind of thing would not happen if things had turned out differently!!!!
if youre from bolton then for the first time in my life im ashamed to be from this great town. what a moronic comment !!

Report this post »

boltoncity says...
12:45pm Mon 4 Feb 13

boltoncity wrote:
Comment777 wrote:
Mr Hitler had some very good ideas...pity some of them did not come to fruition, this kind of thing would not happen if things had turned out differently!!!!
if youre from bolton then for the first time in my life im ashamed to be from this great town. what a moronic comment !!
how the hell do you know this crime wasnt commited by blue eyed blonde haired caucasians ? is that the world you are thinking of ? IDIOT!!

Report this post »

SpeedyMonkey says...
1:37am Tue 5 Feb 13

try the reclamation yards to see if they bought any recently? they wouldnt nick em if they wernt going to sell em?

Report this post »

Don Kiddick says...
8:03am Tue 5 Feb 13

SpeedyMonkey wrote:
try the reclamation yards to see if they bought any recently? they wouldnt nick em if they wernt going to sell em?
Genius

Report this post »

colournature says...
5:24pm Tue 5 Feb 13

yes i think so the reclamation yards , but rather a dodgy builder who has taken them to order.

Its someone strong and doesnt mind lifting things - maybe its annie with her one wheelie bin from the other discussion(sorry annie no offence)

Report this post »

ARBEE says...
12:20am Wed 6 Feb 13

Don Kiddick wrote:
They still do appear almost intelligent; they have not changed. Clearly, despite your very own personal god complex, the subtleties of grammar remain a mystery to you. It's almost as if you're re-interpreting things to suit your own pre-held notions; those your abusive parents infected you with when you trusted every word they said. Are you sure you are not a self-serving worshipper clamouring for the love and salvation promised by a mythical all-seeing being on the sky? Read Pascal Boyer, he knows more about you than even I do.
Hi dork, you appear to have a good opinion of yourself, I think you would
make a good brain donor, please !!!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree