The caretaker of a manor house in Staffordshire gave away a rare Tudor carved panel worth up to £ 5 million because he thought it was rotten, a labor court has heard.
Brian Wilson took the 450-year-old overcoat from Seighford Hall, listed as Grade II, and tossed it into a pile of firewood, before handing it over to an antique dealer who later tried to sell it.
Wilson, who lived in a caravan on the grounds of the 16th-century manor house near Stafford, was found to have committed serious misconduct and was fired.
The building had previously been used as a nursing home, which ceased operations in 1998, and Wilson worked to live on the site and manage the security and maintenance of the property.
Following his dismissal, he took his employer, Seighford Hall Nursing Home Ltd, to court for unfair dismissal.
Occupation Judge Kate Hindmarch ruled that the dismissal had been “procedurally unfair” as Wilson had been unaware of the decision to dismiss him. She awarded him £ 4,066 in illegal deduction of wages and unpaid holiday pay, but decided he was not entitled to any additional compensation for his dismissal.
Wilson admitted to removing the carving without consent, alleging that it was “in a very poor state of repair,” and said he placed it on a “fire pile” before allowing Andrew Potter, an antique dealer. ‘antiques, take it.
“I let him have it. As far as I was concerned, it was less rubbish for me to get rid of,” Wilson said.
Potter planned to turn the carving into a header, but was alerted to its potential value and put it up for auction last year. Stafford City Council went to court to prevent Whitworth Auctions from selling the piece.
Wilson’s actions came to light when a building surveyor came to inspect the property and Wilson told him there had been an overnight robbery with items such as a tractor, fireplaces and oak roof.
Christopher Smith, the room’s managing director, formally reported the theft to police after he was told there was no reference number for a crime related to an alleged intrusion, the Times reported.
Smith then discovered a historic fireplace in Windmill Antiques, which he said he had bought two fireplaces from Wilson for £ 450. A local car dealership also said it had bought a tractor from Wilson in May 2020 for £ 1,000, according to the court.
Wilson was asked to attend a meeting on the sale of unauthorized items, but he did not attend, saying he never received the invitation letter because he had moved home. He was later fired in November 2020.
Wilson denied receiving money for the tractor or removing the chimneys, saying he put the overcoat in a “fire pit” because he had a fungal infection.