Historic Roof Lead Theft Down Research Reveals

LEAD THEFT from historic roofs is falling, according to new research into heritage and cultural property crime in England released today by Historic England and the police.

The Heritage and Cultural Property Crime research reveals the range of threats to the historic environment. These include theft of historic lead and stone, high value burglaries of cultural objects, unlawful metal detecting (nighthawking) and the removal of artefacts from protected sites and wrecks.

Metal theft, such as lead, from historic places of worship increased during the pandemic lockdowns. Since then, preventative and enforcement action has resulted in a steady decrease in these crimes.

Historic Roof Lead Theft

The research reveals that the theft of metal roofing, notably lead, from historic churches increased by 41% during the lockdown periods. These offences are likely to have been committed by both opportunistic offenders and organised crime groups, according to the research.

Between January and November 2023, the theft of lead from church roofs decreased by 26.2% compared with the same period in 2022. Improved security measures may have helped this, as well as introducing Heritage Watch schemes. Moreover, two organised crime groups responsible for stealing high volumes of roofing lead from historic church buildings from Dorset to Yorkshire were prosecuted.

The latest figures show that lead prices increased by 8% between January and November 2023 (£1,309 per tonne 2023 average) compared with the same period in 2022.

To try to reduce the threat of theft, some listed historic churches are replacing stolen lead with stainless steel after consulting Historic England’s guidance on metal theft from places of worship.

Many offences, including removing small parts of lead flashing at a time, may have gone unnoticed during the summer of 2022. The high price of lead may have also encouraged opportunists.

Nationally, there are 943 places of worship on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register in 2023. Meanwhile, there are 53 places of worship on the Register that have threats listed linked to heritage crime.

The aftermath of metal thieves who stole roof lead from the Grade I listed Church of St Denys in Goadby Marwood, Leicestershire. © Simon Headley.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: “We welcome any research into this area of criminality, which helps us to better understand the issue and, therefore, tailor our response to pursue offenders and deter any future opportunists. We are committed to tackling this issue and our heritage crime officers across the country will continue to work with Historic England and other partners, to reduce offending and educate the wider public about the long-lasting damage heritage crime can have.”

The research calls for more effective crime recording across all police forces in the UK. It recommends using heritage markers to highlight protected sites and cultural property crime. This would help better understanding of trends and tackling serious organised crime and anti-social behaviour.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel NolanNPCC Lead for Heritage Crime, said: “The findings of this assessment will help us to develop the new tactics and technologies required to be one step ahead of those intent on stealing from our past.”

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