Historic bell stolen from war memorial at Nottingham park

A historic bell that formed part of a poignant war memorial in a Nottingham park has been stolen.

Nottingham City Council contacted us after noticing thieves had targeted the Chinese Bell Tower, at The Arboretum.

Thankfully, the stolen bell was not the original one erected at the site in 1862 - as that was gifted to a museum in the 1950s. 

A replacement bell was installed some time later and is now missing.

It is not known when the thieves struck, but police are asking anyone with information about the theft to come forward.

According to Historic England, the original bell was looted by British troops from a temple in Canton during the Anglo-Chinese war (Opium War) of 1857-61.

The bell was brought back to the United Kingdom and subsequently formed part of the war memorial, which was built a year after the conflict ended.

Police are appealing to anyone with information about the whereabouts of the stolen bell to come forward.

Sergeant Karl Browne, of the City Central neighbourhood policing team, said:

“Thankfully the stolen bell is not the original one that was erected at the park in 1862.

“However the replacement still carries much historic significance, having been the centrepiece of the Chinese Bell Tower for many years.

“Since the theft was reported to us, we have trawled local CCTV and liaised with scrapyards and local dealers to establish if any person tried to sell it for scrap metal and have it melted down.

“As part of our investigation, we’re asking the public to please let us know if they have any information about the theft or the whereabouts of the bell.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting crime number 25*42194, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.