From the archives: Theft of the Stone of Scone
Scotland Yard had no further news tonight of the Coronation Stone, the Stone of Scone or the Stone of Destiny, as it is variously called. There is "absolutely no trace" of it, but the police are still busy all over the country - especially on northward routes - looking for it.
The stone was stolen in the early hours of Christmas Day from Westminster Abbey. One theory is that the thieves (or, from the point of view of certain Scotsmen, "liberators") hid in a chapel overnight in readiness for their coup. They had first to prise the stone out of its housing under the Coronation Chair, which is behind the High Altar. Then the stone - which weighs four hundredweight and measures roughly 26in by 16in by 11in - had to be carried round to the Poet's Corner door where, presumably, it was loaded into a car.
The police are looking for a man and a woman in a Ford Anglia car, which was seen near the Abbey in the small hours of the morning. Descriptions of them have been circulated, and the police say they speak with Scottish accents. It is taken for granted that the stone has been stolen by Scottish Nationalists.
The stone, which is rectangular and is of yellowish sandstone, has two rings set into it and normally lies behind a grille under the Coronation Chair. In 1940 it was buried in the Abbey, and the secret position marked on the chart, which was sent to Canada for safety.
It is believed to have left the Abbey only once, when it was taken across to Westminster Hall and used for the installation of Cromwell as Lord Protector in 1657. It has been "attacked" before and was once slightly damaged (in 1914) when a bomb was placed under the Coronation Chair during the woman suffrage agitation. Twenty-five years ago, Mr David Kirkwood was given permission to bring a bill for the removal of the stone to Holyrood Palace, but the bill went no farther.
The Coronation Chair is the oldest piece of furniture in the Abbey, and has been used for 27 coronations. It was damaged by the removal of the stone; part of it was broken and a strip of wood from the grille was found lying on the floor.