Three high-value paintings have been stolen in a burglary at Christ Church Picture Gallery in Oxford, police said. Thames Valley police said burglars had broken into the gallery on St Aldates, which is part of Oxford University’s Christ Church college, at around 11pm on Saturday. Nobody was injured during the heist, police confirmed.

They took Salvator Rosa’s A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying a Plan, from the late 1640s, Anthony Van Dyck’s A Soldier on Horseback, circa 1616, and Annibale Carracci’s A Boy Drinking, circa 1580.

🚨**APPEAL**🚨



Three high value paintings have been stolen following a burglary at Christ Church Picture Gallery in St Aldates at around 11pm yesterday.



Please 📞 101 if you have any info.



Read more ➡️ https://t.co/uXLHKdtAZK pic.twitter.com/5VxfSDuJ76 — Thames Valley Police (@ThamesVP) March 15, 2020

DCI Jon Capps appealed to the public for information. “The paintings which have been stolen are very high-value pieces dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries,” Capps said.

“The artwork has not yet been recovered but a thorough investigation is under way to find it and bring those responsible to justice. There will be an increased police presence in the area while officers and staff carry out enquiries. If you saw or heard anything suspicious in the area last night, please get in touch.”

Capps also urged members of the public to come forward and share any CCTV or other footage from around the area they might have and which they thought could help with the investigation.

In 1765, general John Guise bequeathed his collection of more than 200 paintings and almost 2,000 drawings to his former college Christ Church.

Thanks to the generous donation the college, founded in 1546, was able to introduce art into Oxford education without students needing to travel to Italy or visit stately homes, where at that time the majority of art collections in the UK were to be found.

The loss of the paintings was a fresh blow to the college, which had already made headlines this weekend after it discovered that cases of burgundy and Pouilly-Fuissé worth between £1,000 and £2,000 have been mysteriously disappearing from its large fine wine collection, as the Times newspaper reported on Saturday.

The purpose-built gallery was designed by the architects Powell and Moya and was opened by the Queen in 1968.

In a statement, Christ Church college said the gallery would remain closed until further notice, and called on members of the public to assist in any way they can with the recovering of the stolen “important cultural artefacts”.

“At around 11pm on Saturday March 14, there was a break-in at Christ Church Picture Gallery,” the college said.

“The perpetrators proceeded to take three valuable works of art. Christ Church staff alerted the police, who immediately attended the scene in order to gather evidence.”

The college added they were “extremely grateful” for the quick and thorough response by the police.