£1m prayer book found in school

A Renaissance prayer book worth an estimated £1m has been found at a Hertfordshire school.

A British Library curator discovered the Book of Hours at St Edmund's College in Ware and will now put it on show at London's Royal Academy of Arts.

The book is small, gilt-edged and richly illustrated by a highly regarded 16th century Flemish painter.

Probably used by a wealthy patron for private prayers, its public display will be the first for 140 years.

The Books of Hours were Christian religious texts developed in the late Middle Ages and used by lay people.

Their pages contained text, borders and drawings of figures such as the Virgin Mary.

The books were treasured by families and passed down through generations, although as printing became more advanced they were soon mass produced.

The one discovered in Hertfordshire was last seen in public in 1862 and is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.