Shropshire church celebrates bell-hanging in jubilee year
A Shropshire church is preparing to celebrate the hanging of 2 bells at a special service next month.
On Tuesday 6 March John Taylor & Co, the Loughborough bell founders, will return 2 bells to St Mary’s church, Astley, near Shrewsbury to be hung the following day. One of the bells, believed to have been cast in 1270 by a local founder and which could be the oldest in Shropshire, was removed for refurbishment in 2011 following a report by Taylor’s which recommended that vital work was necessary to ensure that the bell remained in good condition for the foreseeable future
It was estimated that from the time of the installation of the Astley memorial clock in 1919 the ancient bell would have tolled about 40 times a week for services and struck by the clock hammer 1,200 times a week; the report further suggested that a second bell be obtained for the clock strike to further ensure the original bell’s longevity.
A second bell of similar size and tone was therefore procured from the Keltek Trust for the clock strike and was removed to the Taylor’s foundry for conservation and repair along with the original bell.
Following discussions with the Heritage Lottery Fund, who were keen to support our proposal to restore the bell, to provide appropriate interpretation material and to involve the local primary school, funding was secured from the HLF and a number of local sponsors.
Both bells will be returned to St Mary’s on 6th March for exhibition to the public before re-dedication at a special commemorative service; the following morning local schoolchildren will have an opportunity to see the bells before their installation in the tower. The original bell will be named Mary after our patron saint and rung to announce services, while the new bell, to be named Elizabeth to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, will chime the hours.
“We are thrilled to be able to guarantee the long-term future of our ancient bell,” said parochial church council member, Martin Locke, “and to know that we are the first church in Shropshire to be hanging bells in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year. We are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund and all our local sponsors for making this happen”
