A vicar clearing a cupboard at his church found a forgotten King James Bible that is almost 400 years old.
The first edition from 1611 is thought to be one of fewer than 200 in existence. The Rev Jason Bray stumbled upon it as he was taking stock at St Giles Parish Church in Wrexham.
He said: ‘We didn’t know it was a first edition, but we sent photographs to the National Library of Wales and they confirmed that it was[…] As far as we know, [it] has always been here.’
The rare copy is missing an Old Testament frontispiece and some pages from the back, but is otherwise in good condition. The text is still legible because the bible’s woven paper has a low acid content.
Dr Bray added: ‘We’re keeping it safe at the moment, but we would like to have somewhere to display it.’
A similar copy found in 2011 at Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge, was valued at several thousand pounds.
© Daily Mail