Historic gold and silver items worth more than 1 million pounds ($1.4million) have been stolen after a late-night raid at Arundel Castle, in the county of Sussex in the south of England.

Police arrived within minutes of alarms going off late on Friday night at the castle, whose oldest parts date back to 1067, but the thieves had already fled the scene with items taken from a display cabinet situated in a public area of the building, according to a BBC report.

Among the items taken were gold rosary beads carried at her execution by Mary Queen of Scots, the former Queen of Scotland. She was beheaded in 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, after being found guilty of plotting to overthrow her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Following Elizabeth's death, which marked the end of the Tudor era in English history, Mary's son King James VI of Scotland then took over the throne of England, ushering in what is known as the Stuart era.

"The stolen items have significant monetary value, but as unique artefacts of the Duke of Norfolk's collection have immeasurably greater and priceless historical importance," a spokesman for the castle was quoted by the BBC as saying. "We therefore urge anyone with information to come forward to the police to assist them in returning these treasures back where they belong."

Police are investigating if an SUV found burnt out nearby shortly after the incident may be connected to it. "If you were in Arundel on Friday evening and saw any suspicious activity around the area of the Castle, please contact us," said Detective Constable Molly O'Malley from the local Chichester police force.

"In addition, the castle only reopened to visitors on Tuesday, May 18 so if you were visiting during the past few days do you on reflection recall anyone behaving at all suspiciously?

"If you are offered or hear of anyone offering for sale any of the items stolen, we would also like to hear from you."

"What terrible news from Arundel," tweeted the local Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society. "This theft is from all of us. It is our heritage."

Arundel is a market town situated close to the South Downs National Park, famed for its cathedral and castle, which was used as a filming location for the Oscar-winning films The Young Victoria (2009) and The Madness of King George (1994), as well as more recently Wonder Woman (2017).

(Video by Ouyang Xueyan and story by JULIAN SHEA)