Whitchurch: Museum keen to acquire treasure found in Prees

The ring, which was discovered on January 30 by Paul Malpass, dates back to 1625, the Stuart era of English monarchs, and has a floral design. Whitchurch Museum and Archives has declared an interest in acquiring it.

It was declared treasure by the chief coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, John Ellery at an inquest held at Shirehall in Shrewsbury on Thursday, August 11.

The treasure will be valued in the British Museum in London. Judith Hoyle, the curator in the Whitchurch Museum and Archives, was initially alerted to the treasure by Birmingham University.

Judith said: "We have declared our interest in the item, it gets taken to the British Museum where they value it and then they offer it to us at that valuation.

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"It will probably take 12 months before all the paper work is done.

"They got in touch with me from Birmingham University where they were cleaning the item because they wanted to know whether we could identify the initials which were inside it.

"We had a look to see if we could find anyone who died on those approximate dates from the Wem or Whitchurch area and we could not.

"So it is obviously somebody else but who was not from this area."

Judith said there have been findings in Whitchurch and the surrounding area which go back to pre-Roman times.

She added: "This is not a particularly old, this is from the 1600s.

"We have things which are a lot older than that have been found in the area dating back to pre-Roman times."

Judith explained the ring explains what people wore and the craftsmanship at the time.

She said: "If we get the item it will be on show here, as are any other items that we have purchased.

"Obviously, we have to raise money and rely on donations from people to purchase these items.

"So depending on how much it is going to to cost, we have to decide whether we can afford it or whether we have to raise money.

"But it is a very nice and important item to show what people were wearing in those days, what they were spending their money on.

"We have got other rings in the collection as well, so it would be alongside them.

"It would just show the craftsmanship at that time and the sort of people who were living in this area or passing through."