Lottery funding preserves bells and ringing skills at village church
A village church has been awarded £77,293 in Lottery funding to repair its bells and establish a hub for teaching bellringing to future generations.
Members of St Mary the Virgin Church, at Harby, are celebrating the National Lottery Heritage Fund award, which will pay for the complete restoration of the church bells by the Loughborough Bellfoundry, the addition of a sixth bell and the installation of two training bells.
It will also fund a simulator and specialist software to teach and promote the art of change ringing while CCTV will also be set up so the public can see how the bells are rung.
The work should start early next year, and the bells will be out of the tower for around four months.
In addition, the project will also see the cChurch handbells fully restored for community use.
A public engagement programme will run until March 2027, including stalls at local events, a talk on the history and heritage of bellringing by a local historian, trips to Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough, as well as tower open days to recruit and train new bellringers in the area.
The Rev Paul Towns, vicar of Harby and chair of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), said: “We now have an excellent opportunity to augment the bells at Harby Church and upgrade their mechanics, thanks to National Lottery players and the Heritage Fund.
"A local hub for teaching new bellringers will use modern technology to progress existing bellringers, whilst increasing awareness of bells and bellringing through community involvement and events.
"It will be a real joy for the local primary school children to be involved and to visit the foundry in this once-every-hundred-years event.
“The bells project marks the first stage of preserving our church for use by the community and future generations.
“It has been the centre of Harby for centuries, and continues to be a valued public resource for celebration, prayer and comfort, impacting positively on the lives of our village community.”
The project has also received donations from The Leicester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, The Framland Society of Ringers, Harby Harlequins Community Chest, as well as from the local community.
Up to date news on the it, can be found on the Facebook page ‘Harby Bell Restoration Project’.