A FORGOTTEN relic of Loftus's past has been unearthed during the refurbishment of the town hall.

The dispensation charter for the town's Court Dundas 747, part of the Ancient Order of Foresters, dates back to 1843, and was recovered in the clock tower by workers during the refurbishment of the town hall in the summer. It was framed in the original wooden box.

The foresters was a national friendly society to which people paid contributions to, and in times of sickness or when there was a death in the family they received a donation back from the society to help meet funeral costs or doctors and medicines costs.

Courts were the independent branches of the association set up in towns across the country. The charter is the equivalent of the declaration of independence for the Court Dundas.

The court ceased in the 1950s and Loftus councillor Eric Jackson, who has researched the history of the Court Dundas, thinks it must have been put in the roof, hidden away from view from then.

"It is quite a find and it is in perfect condition," he said.

Now the find needs a new home and its future is to be decided in the next few weeks.

Mr Jackson said mystery surrounds another relic found in the town hall roof - a photograph of the Victorian Shakespearean actor Forbes Robertson who appeared as Hamlet at Loftus Town Hall at some time.

Mr Jackson is curious to know more about Mr Robertson and anyone with details is asked to call reporter Lucia Charnock on (01642) 480397.