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Century-old Radio Times hidden inside church stool

Caty Mills Steve Hopkins holding up the old copy of the Radio Times. He has white hair and an open collar white shirt. He is standing in the courtyard of his workshop.Caty Mills
Steve Hopkins bought the church stool at an auction

A 101-year-old copy of the Radio Times has been discovered in a church stool that was being refurbished.

Furniture restorer Steve Hopkins found the well-preserved edition after removing the cover on the kneeling stool at his workshop in Wimborne, Dorset.

Also inside were copies of the Children's Newspaper, John Bull and the Daily Graphic - all dated 1924.

Mr Hopkins said, despite being in "really good condition", the papers were not valuable, but they did offer an interesting insight into life at the time.

Listen: The Radio Times front page led with an editorial by John Reith

Mr Hopkins, who runs Middle Barn Vintage store, said the ecclesiastical stool had been on a "long list of to do jobs" since he bought it at an auction.

He said: "I took the cover off and in amongst the wadding were all these newspapers from early 1924, all in really good condition.

"They are not worth anything but they were a really good find."

The Radio Times predates BBC television so the listings are for radio only.

The front page bears an editorial by John Reith, then managing director of the BBC, responding to criticism that broadcasting was harming the music profession.

Caty Mills A close up of the stool after the cover was removed. Inside the wooden frame is some old wadding and a well-preserved copy of the Children's Newspaper. One of the headlines reads: The Face of a Pharaoh.Caty Mills
One newspaper included an article about the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb

Another article in the Children's Newspaper talks about the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun 18 months previously.

Mr Hopkins said the adverts were particularly interesting.

"There are adverts for cigarettes that will make you healthier if smoke 60 a day - that sort of thing," he said.

He added that, as the papers had not monetary value, he might consider putting them back in the refurbished stool for someone else to find in another 100 years.

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