24-06-2025
Man pleads guilty to theft of £80,000 candelabra from Cyfarthfa Castle
A man has pleaded guilty to stealing a candelabra worth £80,000 from Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil in April.
Henry Tyson Wilsher, 31, walked out of the museum with the valuable object back in April after smashing a glass cabinet to steal it, shocking staff and schoolchildren who were on a school trip at the time.
South Wales Police launched a manhunt to try and find the thief, and the Leicestershire man has appeared in court in connection with the incident on 8 April.
Appearing via video link before Teeside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 24 June, Wilsher pleaded guilty to theft, receiving stolen goods, and criminal damage.
He admitted stealing the candelabra from the castle, dishonestly receiving a Ford Fiesta knowing or believing it to be stolen, and criminal damage after damaging a glass cabinet to access the candelabra.
The court heard that the candelabra - one of the museum's most prized objects - is yet to be recovered.
Wilsher, of Bagworth in Leicestershire, was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at Teeside Crown Court on 15 July.
Merthyr Tydfil Council leader Brent Carter previously told ITV Wales of the "frightening" incident: "It was awful. There were sixty schoolchildren here from Cyfarthfa Park Primary.
"They were here enjoying themselves, looking around the museum, and a gentleman came in, picked a house brick out of his pocket, and smashed the casing, tore back the glass and stole the candelabra."
