A VILLAGE row over the rightful ownership of an historical royal charter has been peacefully resolved.
The seal was granted by Queen Victoria in 1846 to allow the tiny dales village of St John's Chapel, to hold fairs twice a year.
When the vellum document emerged, the auctioneers believed that a reference to St John's Chapel was the name of a church in Stanhope. It wasn't until after local history group, the Weardale Society, bought the seal unseen for £833, that members realised the document was issued for the village further up the dale.
The society was considering presenting a copy of the seal to Stanhope Parish Council but Ian Scholes, chairman of Upper Weardale Town Council, in St John's Chapel, stepped into the ring and demanded the seal was returned to its rightful home.
In a peaceful gesture, the Weardale Society last week presented framed copies to both Stanhope Town Council and Upper Weardale Council.
The original is safe in the county archive.
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