There are only seven copies of the Magna Carter – A charter of rights drawn up in 1215 – in existence (Picture: Getty)

Locals are fuming over their town council’s plans to sell a medieval copy of the Magna Carta.

The charter of rights is just one of seven in existence and was presented to the Kent town of Faversham in 1300.

After caring for the document for more than 700 years, Faversham Town Council have revealed plans to sell the manuscript, which was signed and sealed by King Edward I.

The precious document is worth an estimated £20m and could be sold to fund refurbishing the council officers or an exhibition space, town leaders say.


The announcement has been branded ‘outrageous’ by locals who are keen to preserve the town’s history.



Former journalist Mark Gardner said it was an act of of ‘incredible irresponsibility’ to ‘sell the town’s birth right’.

The 80-year-old said it was something that ‘should be and is prized by all of Faversham’s residents.’

Local residents are furious over their town council’s plan to consider selling the Magna (Picture: Clem Rutter)

The Magna Carta, first issued in 1215, was a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England, as a peace treaty between him and rebel barons.

Its core principle said no one was above the law – including the King.

The Faversham copy is held in a vault and has only been put on display on a number of occasions.

The town council has confirmed that if the precious charter cannot be permanently displayed in Faversham, other options – such as selling or leasing it to museums – will be considered.

The revelation came as part of a consultation into the future use of the Faversham’s Town Hall.

The council purchased the building in 2016 and planned to create a permanent exhibition space for the Magna Carta and Faversham’s other historic charters.

However, the cash-strapped council have struggled to find grant money to put the document safely on display.

The cash strapped council are struggling to raise funds to put the Magna Carta on display in the Town Hall (Picture: Google)

Councillor Kris Barker said the authority is considering selling the document, as well as other options.

He said: ‘The question about whether we want to sell the Magna Carta I think we need to defer until after we’ve made a proposal about what we’re going to do with this building.

‘I think it’s a very valid question. There are also very similar options where we lease it to places like the Smithsonian Institution.

‘I think we could explore all of those, but we would need to engage the town with what we’d end up doing with it, but at the moment I just think it’s worth making sure we run through these options, and if this isn’t a space we utilise for historic exhibitions and the display of Magna Carta, then we can look at other options.’

Two copies of Magna Carta – both from 1297 – have been sold.

One was bought by the Australian government for £12,500 and the other was sold to US businessman David Rubenstein for $21.3 million in 2007.