The bells at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in North Curry are the first church bells to be cast with the cypher of King Charles III. The set of eight bells, the oldest of which was made in 1811, was removed from the church tower and sent to Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough last autumn, after the local community raised £150,000 for the recasting. The bells had not been rung fully for some time as their weight was no longer supported by the church tower infrastructure. Since the recasting they are about a ton lighter, making them a suitable weight for the church tower and easier to ring.
Now the bells are installed in the church again. On Sunday 30 April Bishop Michael conducted a Service of Dedication for the recast bells. After the service the bells were rung. Simon Bale, the vicar of the church, expressed his gratitude for the process. ‘It’s been a long journey, but finally on Sunday night we completed it. All the bells will be rung for the Coronation on Saturday, and also for the first wedding of the year on Saturday afternoon. It’s been the most amazing experience. Raising the funds has been joyful because we’ve been able to do it through many events and activities which really brought the community together.’
The church was full for the Service of Dedication. Simon said, ‘Bishop Michael was terrific, he really entered into the spirit of the thing, which was to represent the bells as a call to worship. In his sermon he spoke about the sound of the bells in the village calling people to the church, which was a place of ancient worship, is now a place of present worship, and will be a place of worship in years to come.’
Simon also appreciated the opportunity the service offered to properly thank everyone who had been so involved, including Geoffrey Dart, Steve Jackson and Martin Horrox, who led the project.
The main message for Simon is one of thankfulness: ‘Thanks to God for everything, and thanks for the hard work of so many people in the parish. Ringing the bells out to remind people that the church is there is a wonderful thing to be able to do.’
Watch a video featuring the bells being rung during the Coronation.