A 1939 inquest ruled the Sutton Hoo ship burial was Edith Pretty's property, and she gave it to the nation

About 625, someone was buried in a ship under a mound at Sutton Hoo with weapons, gold and silver. A purse in the grave held 37 gold coins dated to about 625. The leading identification is King Rædwald of East Anglia, whose recorded death is around 624; the National Trust says his identity is unknown. Soil analysis from 1965 to 1971 showed a body had decayed there. The neighbouring Mound 2 ship burial had been robbed, probably in 1860, but robbers never reached Mound 1. The landowner, Edith Pretty, sponsored the dig, and in June 1939 the ship was uncovered. That autumn a treasure trove inquest sat at Sutton village hall. Treasure buried with the intention of recovering it belonged to the Crown. The inquest found that this treasure was buried without that intention, so it was Pretty's property as landowner. She gave it to the British Museum. Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered her a CBE, and she declined. She died on 17 December 1942. Most of the objects are in the British Museum. The burial site is owned by the National Trust.