Latest news with #BlenheimPalace
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Blenheim Palace replaces stolen gold lavatory with £10 substitute
Blenheim Palace has replaced its stolen golden lavatory with a replica with which visitors can pay £10 to take a selfie. The historic country house, which was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, is planning to put the attraction in the Water Terraces. It comes after the original £4.75 million golden lavatory artwork, named America, was stolen from the Spencer-Churchill's family home back in 2019. Five men broke into the palace using sledgehammers, before ripping out the solid gold lavatory and fleeing in a stolen Volkswagen. The working lavatory, plumbed as part of an exhibition by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been on display for just under a week before it was taken. James Sheen, 40, Michael Jones, 39, Fred Doe, 36, and Bora Guccuk, 41, were accused of being part of a gang who planned and carried out the 'bold and brazen' burglary of the Oxfordshire stately home. Sheen was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to burglary and transferring criminal property in 2024, while Jones was found guilty of burglary in March 2025 and sentenced to 27 months. Doe, from Windsor, was convicted of conspiracy to sell the stolen gold and given a 21-month-long suspended sentence in May, while Guccuk, from west London, was cleared of the same charge. The golden lavatory was probably melted down after it was stolen and has not been recovered since. Blenheim Palace said the replica, which has been spray-painted gold and stuck to an old pallet, is 'aimed to be a fun focal point for visitors to sit down for a selfie with a difference.' A spokesman for Blenheim Palace said: 'We take the theft of any property extremely seriously, but with the incredible global interest in the golden toilet theft and the recent court case coming to a conclusion, we thought some light hearted amusement with a budget alternative in our gardens would raise a smile and become an unlikely new stop-off point for visitors to our stunning gardens.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Blenheim Palace proposes 500 new homes on estate land
Plans to build 500 houses on part of Blenheim Palace estate have been submitted to a local Unesco World Heritage Site's housing operation wants to build the homes on land to the east of Park View in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.A public consultation into the plans is currently under way, with a final decision on the plans expected to be made by Cherwell District Council in 2015, Blenheim Estate Homes' plans to construct 1,200 homes on the same site - next door to Oxford Airport - were rejected by the same local authority. In documents submitted to the council, the developers said the plans would create a "modest extension to Woodstock" which would "encourage community integration and social cohesion"."The ambition and vision of Blenheim Estate Homes is to build beautiful homes and create thriving communities where people will enjoy living and working, now and in the future," it said. The developers said it had a "deep-rooted relationship with the communities that surround Woodstock and feels a moral obligation to enhance their value and shared prosperity".It added that in developing its land to create homes, it wanted to "ensure that places are delivered where people enjoy living and working and that new homes become part of the existing fabric".The proposals include a target of 35% affordable housing, a community square and pedestrian and cycle links to Upper Campsfield Road and Shipton Road.A public consultation runs until 10 July, with a council decision expected on 8 September. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
New York Times
6 days ago
- New York Times
2 Men Are Sentenced in Theft of Golden Toilet
The tale of the stolen gold toilet has come to a close. Two men who stole an 18-carat commode from Blenheim Palace in England in 2019 were sentenced on Friday to two to four years in prison for their roles in the theft. The sentencing came after four men were accused of stealing or trying to sell the $6 million fully functioning toilet, an artwork titled 'America' by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, which was believed to have been chopped up so the gold could be sold. James Sheen, 44, described by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the theft, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. On Friday, he received a four-year sentence. Michael Jones, 39, was sentenced to 27 months in prison. Prosecutors said he made reconnaissance trips to Blenheim Palace near Oxford in advance of the theft. He was found guilty of burglary after a trial in March. 'This was an extraordinary case in many respects,' Shan Saunders, a solicitor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement. 'It is not every day that we prosecute high-value burglaries of stately homes, let alone the audacious theft of an 18-carat gold toilet.' Just as unusual, he added, was that despite the level of planning that went into the theft, 'the offenders left such a trail of evidence in their wake.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Malay Mail
Luxury loo larceny: Two men jailed for ‘bold and brazen' US$6m gold toilet heist at Churchill's birthplace
LONDON, June 14 — Two men were jailed yesterday for stealing an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibition at Winston Churchill's birthplace. The fully functioning toilet, a work titled America by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Palace in southern England, a major tourist attraction and Unesco World Heritage Site. Prosecutor Julian Christopher told jurors at the start of the trial at Oxford Crown Court in February that a group of five men had driven two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on September 14, 2019. They broke in through a window, smashed down a wooden door, ripped the toilet from the wall and left after five minutes in the building. The toilet, weighing 98 kilos was insured for US$6 million (RM25 million). Prosecutors say it was probably divided into smaller amounts of gold to sell it off. None of the gold has ever been recovered. James Sheen, 40, had pleaded guilty before trial to burglary, conspiring to convert or transfer the gold and converting or transferring the gold. Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary by a jury, having pleaded not guilty. Judge Ian Pringle said the pair had played important roles in the 'bold and brazen heist', though the judge said he could not be sure that Jones was present during the burglary. Sheen was sentenced to four years in jail, with the sentence to begin at the end of a separate jail term of nearly 20 years he is currently serving for a series of thefts. Jones was sentenced to 27 months in prison. — Reuters
ABC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Two men jailed for stealing golden toilet from Winston Churchill's birthplace
Two men who smashed their way into a historic English property and ripped out a $9 million solid-gold toilet have been jailed for their part in the theft. James Sheen, 40, and Michael Jones, 39, were jailed at Oxford Crown Court in central England for four years and 27 months respectively. The sentences came as it was revealed Sheen is already serving 19 years in jail for a string of other offences, including a museum burglary and attacks on cash machines. The fully functioning 18-carat artwork was stolen in a raid on an exhibition at Blenheim Palace — the birthplace of Winston Churchill — near central Oxford in September 2019. The toilet artwork, dubbed America, was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and had been on display as one of the star attractions at an exhibition in the 18th-century home. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said. "America has never been seen again." Weighing about 98 kilograms, the artwork was insured for $US6 million ($9 million) and was made with 20 kilograms of gold. It was stolen just hours after a glamorous exhibition launch party by thieves wielding sledgehammers. Prosecutors said the work was likely broken up or melted down and sold soon after the theft. The gold has not been recovered. It is believed Sheen took the 20kg of gold to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter in September 2019 and sold it for 26,000 pounds ($54,000) a kilogram. Jurors heard earlier that Sheen first contacted a third man, Frederick Doe, two days after the raid to ask if he could help him sell some of the gold. Doe replied to Sheen in a WhatsApp message: "I do know just the man you need to see." The 37-year-old, described by a judge as a "foolish" middleman, escaped jail for his role in the heist. He was handed a suspended sentence last month after being found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Jones previously said he used the toilet at Blenheim Palace the day before it was taken. Asked what it was like, he told the court it was "splendid". Sheen admitted burglary and money laundering offences. Judge Pringle said his four-year jail term would be added to the 19 years he is already serving. Jones was found guilty of burglary after an earlier trial. AFP
