COMMUNITY efforts to raise enough money to buy a medieval seal matrix found in Cobham have been successful more than 150 miles away.


The matrix, which has been on loan to the Stone Historical and Civic Society, can now be bought after £8,000 was raised.

Councillor Philip Leason, chairman of the society and a representative on Stafford Borough Council, said the group had held several events and launched an appeal to collect enough money to return the item permanently to the West Midlands.

“We have raised enough money to buy the matrix and we have posted a cheque off to him [Mr Burke],” he said

Mr Burke, who jointly owns the matrix, said a final legal agreement was being drawn up before the sale was done.

Theitem contains the Latin inscription ‘s’ecce sce marie et sci w(v)lfadi martiris de stanis’, meaning ‘The seal of the church of Saint Mary and Saint Wulfad the martyr of Stone’.