Dong dong the bells are back

The bells of a village church have sounded for the first time in more than 40 years, thanks to ten years of fundraising by residents.

Their efforts helped to cover the £17,600 cost of restoring two ancient bells at St Helena’s Church, Thoroton.

The bells, dating to 1660 and 1703, were taken out of the bell tower in January.

They have now been returned in an operation that took about ten days.

An extra bell, from a church in Warrington, Cheshire, has also been installed and was paid for with donations from Nottinghamshire Historic Churches Trust.

The bells were rung for the first time in more than 40 years by Orston bellringers during a garden fete at Manor House Farm.

Churchwarden Mr Nick Finlay (55) said it was a great occasion after such a long absence.

“The last time the bells really rang was 40 years ago,” he said.

“It has been a big effort by the village. It has taken about ten years to raise the money.”

Some work, including the preparation of the bell tower, was carried out by the friends of the church, saving about £3,500.

Mr Finlay said they were planning to get a team of about half a dozen bellringers from the village who would need about six months of practice.

He said the bells were currently rung by bellringers from Orston and Scarrington for special occasions, such as weddings.

He said several villagers had expressed an interest in ringing and two had been practising at Orston.

Mr Finlay said they were planning to get a bellringer from Orston to help them practice after the summer holidays.

He said the restoration, carried out by Haywood Mills Associates of Nottingham, took longer than first anticipated because the company had a lot of work at the time.

The landfill tax recycling group Wren gave the church £2,000 towards the project through the Nottinghamshire Historic Churches Trust.