'Hoard belongs to Mercian kingdom'
MERCIAN nationalists have claimed ownership of the Staffordshire Hoard for the people of Stoke-on-Trent, Cheshire and the West Midlands.
The Acting Witan of Mercia wants to create a separate nation state, made up of the 20 shires, including Staffordshire and Cheshire, which formed the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.
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GOING FOR GOLD: Queues outside the exhibition in Hanley. Top, the museum's Deb Klemperer and Jeff Kent, centre, and Philip Snow of the Acting Witan. .
They claim the Crown and UK Government has no legal authority over the region's citizens, because William the Conqueror and his Norman army took Mercia by force in 1066.
Yesterday Jeff Kent, convener of the Acting Witan, or government, of Mercia, visited the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Hanley, to claim ownership of the Staffordshire Hoard, on behalf of the people of Mercia.
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He told hundreds of people queuing to see the treasure: "In accordance with The Constitution of Mercia, the law of the land, the Hoard belongs in Staffordshire, where it was found, and the Acting Witan hereby declares that this fabulous Mercian treasure will remain in the shire, freely accessible to all the citizens of the region and future generations in perpetuity."
The Acting Witan, in Anglo-Saxon times a council of wise men which advised and often selected the king, now says it has "authorised" the Potteries Museum to keep the Hoard.
Under UK law, the Hoard belongs to the Crown. A funding campaign is underway to raise the £3.3 million needed to buy the treasure back on behalf of both Birmingham Museum and the Potteries Museum.
Mr Kent, aged 58, of Cotes Heath, a Stoke-on-Trent College lecturer, said: "The Hoard was found in Staffordshire and it should remain in Staffordshire. It is the property of Mercia.
"The UK Government does not uphold the law in Mercia, although it does have the power. Mercia is an independent state.
"If you go back prior to 1066, Mercia was its own kingdom. It was forcibly taken by foreign invaders.
"We have authorised the Potteries Museum to keep it. We have not decided properly where it should go."
Phillip Snow is the acting Sheriff of Staffordshire, and a member of the Acting Witan of Mercia.
Mr Snow, aged 64, of Betley, said: "We believe Mercia should be free to govern itself.
"The Acting Witan of Mercia has twice written to the monarch of the United Kingdom, requiring that the Hoard be handed over to Mercia."
The Mercian Constitutional Convention reaffirmed and declared the legal independence of Mercia, in May 2003, in Victoria Square, Birmingham.
Since then, the Acting Witan of Mercia has met regularly and has written to the Prime Minister and the Queen to warn taxes could not be legitimately collected in the region and to demand Mercian autonomy.
John Hodges, aged 69, of Stone, queued for three hours to see the Hoard. He said: "It should certainly stay in Staffordshire."
Ray Hickson, aged 51, of Audley, added: "I think the Hoard should belong to the people."
Deb Klemperer, principle collections officer at the museum, said: "We are happy to welcome the Witan.
"I'm very interested in the Witan, but we are not associated with them and we have to obey the law, so we will not be keeping the Hoard."
Comments
by Leanne, Stoke
Saturday, February 27 2010, 10:26PM
“"taxes could not be legitimately collected in the region" Ooh I like that bit!”
by Rustinho, Silverdale
Saturday, February 27 2010, 10:14PM
“If this Jeff Kent character is claiming to be representing me in government could he possibly explain when I had the opportunity to elect him to said position as a citizen of "Mercia"? No? I thought not.”
by Jonathan Beresford, Stoke-on-Trent
Saturday, February 27 2010, 12:37PM
“I wonder if the museum manager was tempted to telephone the men in white coats when these nutters turned up?”
by Jeff Kent, Cotes Heath
Saturday, February 27 2010, 12:03PM
“I agree with Mrs Cheveley that the word "Kent" is probably Celtic in origin, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with the English surname. The geographical region of Kent was so named approximately a millennium before English surnames came into existence. It is highly likely that the vast majority of those people named Kent today got their surname because their ancestors at some point moved from Kent to somewhere else, hence Jeff of Kent, if you like. By that time, the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Kent were English.
But Mrs Cheveley has missed the point. We're not representing a race here. We're talking about all the people of Mercia today, whether white, black, red or blue. What we're saying is that the people of the region should be sovereign and take the decisions, but we do realise that some people prefer to continue to be owned by the UK monarch under the current state of affairs and we respect their view on that.
But the primary reason for our event at the museum was to provide arguments and evidence for the Hoard to remain in Staffordshire and we believe that that's what most people want to happen. So let's all get behind that campaign.
Visiting our website at www.independentmercia.org should make our views clear and readers can then make a thoroughly informed opinion on them.”
by Anon, Mow Cop
Saturday, February 27 2010, 11:17AM
“Next, we'll have the UFO people claiming it was left by alien visitors before mankind was here.”
by Gladys, Stoke
Saturday, February 27 2010, 11:11AM
“All that's missing is Margaret Rutherford and the rest of the Ealing Comedy bunch! Passport to Pimlico springs to mind.”
by Mrs Cheveley, Trentham
Saturday, February 27 2010, 10:09AM
“"They claim the Crown and UK Government has no legal authority over the region's citizens, because William the Conqueror and his Norman army took Mercia by force in 1066."
What a terrible argument. By that logic, Jeff Kent is nobody to be speaking on behalf of Anglo Saxons because his surname is Celtic in origin. His paternal ancestors were here either before the Anglo Saxons invaded, or came over with the Normans in 1066.”