A model of the vessel whose chance arrival in Bermuda led to the island’s permanent settlement has been restored to its original glory.

The Sea Venture replica, which sits at St Peter’s Church in St George’s, was cleaned and repaired over several months.

The Friends of St Peter’s Church, a charity that supports the maintenance of the church, hired Milton Hill with the Department of Culture for the revitalisation.

Gillian Outerbridge, the chairwoman of the group, recognised Mr Hill as a “gifted artisan of model boats”.

She said: “Mr Hill’s created a special Bermuda cedar model of the Sea Venture at our request in 2012, which was gifted to the Bishop of London when he visited St Peter’s to revive its historical designation as Their Majesties Chappell.”

The Sea Venture model, built by author PM Wright, featured on the cover of his 1962 book, New Manual of Model Shipbuilding.

The book, released by D Van Nostrand Company, included a detailed chapter on building the model and featured a large-scale blueprint of the vessel.

Sisters Jean H Meyer and Ruth H Tucker donated the model to St Peter’s Church, where they were members, in 1961.