'It's sacrilege' - Outrage as vandals spray graffiti on Kinver's Rock Houses
Vandals who sprayed graffiti on rock houses at Kinver Edge have been accused of committing sacrilege akin to damaging Stonehenge heritage site.
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Kinver Councillor Victoria Wilson said she was left "heartbroken" after footage capturing graffiti spray painted on the isolated ruins at the Nanny's Rock and Vale's Rock area of the National Trust heritage site near Stourbridge were posted on Facebook attracting scores of views and comments by dismayed residents.
Councillor Wilson said: "It's as bad as spraying graffiti on Stonehenge. The rock houses are historic sites and are dearly loved by the people of Kinver and surrounding communities.
"This is a really dreadful thing to do and it would be great if the local community could get behind the National Trust to see if it can be cleaned up.
"It's a sorry state of affairs for such an important heritage site. It's sacrilege."
The ward representative, who has retained her Staffordshire Country Council seat following this week's local elections, also called on the community to support National Trust efforts to clean the walls at the secluded site which is also unsafe due to the risk of falling rocks.
It is thought that those responsible for the graffiti also damaged security fencing at the woodlands to gain access to the houses.
National Trust visitor operations and experience manager Claire Hale said: "The Rock Houses on Kinver Edge are treasured by all who visit and live nearby, and we are dismayed to see the kind of activity that’s happened here. Conservation work and archaeological surveys were carried out recently to better understand this particular site.
"As a charity we rely on fundraising and donations from supporters to help pay for the ongoing maintenance, as well as repairs and restoration, of the heritage assets in our care.
“Disappointing as they are, incidents like this are rare considering the millions of visitors who enjoy and respect National Trust places.
"Whilst we understand visitors’ motives to share incidents like this online and express their concerns, we are also conscious that this gives a platform to this kind of behaviour. Hopefully, this is an isolated case, but we would urge anyone who bears witness or has some knowledge of such activity to report it to the local police, as we have done in this case.”
The rock houses were carved out of the soft red sandstone. The most famous are the homes at Holy Austin Rock which were restored and opened to visitors. These feature stoves, furniture, windows and doors set into the sandstone, just as they were when the houses were lived in.
Nanny’s Rock houses where the vandalism took place and Vale’s Rock are not yet restored. The earliest record of people living in the rocks was made in 1777 when Joseph Heely took refuge from a storm and was given shelter by a family.
The National Trust was initially given 198 acres of Kinver Edge in 1917 in memory of Thomas Grosvenor Lee, a Birmingham solicitor who was born in Kinver. Today it looks after almost 600 acres.
World famous Stonehenge in Salisbury features a huge prehistoric stone circle featuring Stone Age dwellings dating back some 4,000 years.
