AN ANCIENT church with links to the Titanic disaster has been given permission to replace its stolen roof.

The 13th century St Peter's Church at Bramshaw was targeted four months ago, when raiders removed a large amount of copper covering the top of the nave.

The rest of the copper is said to be nearing the end of its working life.

Now the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has approved plans to re-roof the nave with terne-coated stainless steel, which has a low resale value.

St Peter's Church, Bramshaw, has been given planning permission to replace its stolen roof.

St Peter's contains a memorial to a group of parishioners who died aboard Titanic during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.

Charles Davies, Percy Deacon, William Deacon, Stanley Hickman, Leonard Hickman, Lewis Hickman and Ambrose Hood were planning to begin a new life in Canada. They were among more than 1,500 people who perished when the liner struck an iceberg and sank.

Thieves raided St Peter's on April 3 and stole about a third of the nave's roof.

The planning application said: "In order to protect the building from the weather, a local builder kindly provided plastic sheeting as temporary protection.

"This appears to be effective at keeping the weather out of the building. However, this cannot be guaranteed for too long."

St Peter's Church, Bramshaw, has been given planning permission to replace its stolen roof.

The application said the remaining copper was nearing the end of its life and church members wanted to re-cover the whole of the nave's roof with a different type of material.

It added: "Lead would be an obvious choice but is too valuable and attractive to would-be thieves.

"Modern sheet materials are not thought to be appropriate in appearance and are not as long-lived as metal roof products. Zinc is a possible option, but terne-coated stainless steel is the material now proposed.

"This approach is in line with guidance provided by Historic England and the Church of England in situations where repeated theft is likely.

"Terne-coated stainless steel is durable but has a negligible re-sale value. It is also very difficult to lift and remove once laid. Once the initial ‘shiny’ appearance weathers away, the overall appearance is similar to a lead roof covering."

Some of the graves at the 13th century St Peter's Church, Bramshaw.

An NPA report said the authority's conservation officer and Historic England supported the proposal.

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