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Civil War cannonball spent 30 years as a doorstop
Former postman's historic find
A Civil War cannonball spent 30 years as a doorstop, until historians linked it to other Civil War finds in the town.
Former postman David Windmill, 62, found the ball when he was working at the post office in Church Square more than three decades ago.
He said: "The old post office was being pulled down and they were putting a new sorting office in. One of the builders found it and was going to throw it away, but I stepped in and took it home, and it's been a doorstop since then.
"At a Christmas party, I got talking to Paul Brown, the author of Leighton Buzzard And Linslade: A History.
"He asked to take a look at it, and took it away with him.
"They are linking it to the Civil War. Apparently there was musket shot found in the church which could date back to then as well."
Mr Brown and his wife, Maureen, a member of the Leighton Buzzard And District Archaeological And Historical Society, have been able to find a rough date when the cannonball would have been fired.
Maureen said: "When Paul brought it home we measured it and weighed it and learned that it must have been from a Saker, a middleweight cannon, and probably dates back somewhere between 1642 and 1648. There were a lot of Roundheads in the town at that time but the lord of the manor, Sir Thomas Leigh, was a Royalist, so it was a town divided.
"There has been musket shot found in All Saints Church, and the Parliamentarians were known for smashing any religious
imagery, so maybe the cannonball comes from then.
"There was also a major fire in the town in March 1645, so the cannonball might have something to do with this.
"Other people have said that musket shot was found when the new foundations for the post office were dug, so there may have been a skirmish around the town."
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
