Gloucestershire Police have launched an investigation after people using metal detectors and a spade dug several holes on the grounds of Hailes Abbey in the Cotswolds in late August.
Officers said the unauthorised activity occurred on August 20 or 21 and left eight small holes in the grounds of the ruined 13th-century Cistercian abbey near Winchcombe. The force is asking anyone with information to contact them and quote incident 386 of August 22.
Hailes Abbey is a scheduled monument — a legal designation that protects sites of national archaeological and historic importance — and is owned by the National Trust and managed by English Heritage. Founded in 1246, it was a prominent medieval shrine and pilgrimage site notable for a relic long said to be a phial of Christ’s blood. The abbey was closed and largely dismantled during the 1530s dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII.
Police described the incident as an instance of “nighthawking,” a term used for the illegal searching for and removal of artefacts from protected sites by people using metal detectors without permission. Those who remove finds from scheduled sites face potential criminal charges and damage that heritage bodies say can be irreversible.
Catherine Lange, spokesperson for the National Council for Metal Detecting, has previously called the practice theft and warned that romantic language around nighthawking risks downplaying the seriousness of the crime and tarnishing the reputation of legal detectorists. Mark Harrison, head of heritage crime at Historic England, said such activity “steals from all of us and damages something which is often irreplaceable.”
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said officers are following a line of inquiry and urged anyone with information, mobile phone footage or dashcam material from the nights in question to make contact. Information can be provided via the force’s online reporting form citing the incident number, or by calling 101 and quoting the phrase “Operation Minster” to report crimes affecting heritage sites nationally.
Local policing teams also operate a Heritage Watch Scheme intended to protect historical sites, monuments and artefacts across the county. Heritage organisations and police forces across the United Kingdom have reported an increase in illegal detectorist activity in recent years, with some specialist publications and heritage groups describing the problem as an escalating concern.
Hailes Abbey, which is mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, remains open to the public under National Trust care, and staff and volunteers regularly monitor the site. The National Trust and English Heritage did not immediately release a joint statement beyond confirming they were aware of the police inquiry and were working with officers.
Gloucestershire Police reiterated that any suspected offence against a scheduled monument can be reported to the force, stressing that the preservation of protected sites is a community responsibility. Anyone with information about the Hailes Abbey incident or similar offences is asked to contact police through the online form, to call 101 and say “Operation Minster,” or to provide details to local officers.