The restoration of the bells at St. Mary’s church in Bridport has been satisfactorily completed.
The bells were fully recast in 1924, and still ring today as a well rounded octave, but now with upgraded bearings, wheels, and clappers they are much easier to handle and strike well.
A special service was held at the church led by the Rt. Revd. Karen Gorman, Bishop of Sherborne, to bless the bells and the ringers. Bishop Karen and the Rt. Revd. Cally Burch, Team Vicar for the Parish joined the ringers in the ringing chamber to celebrate together, before the ringers joined them for the church service.
Bob Hardwick, tower captain, said “The ringers welcome all those wishing to learn the art of church bellringing. Our bells are a nice set, a nice octave, and now ring much easier following this restoration work, so please come and join in.”
St Mary’s ringers will also be holding a tower open day on Saturday September 6th from 10am – 1pm and welcome visitors and ringers alike. Refreshments will be served in the church.
Bob added “The ringers would like to express their great thanks to all the helpers and donors who made this work possible.” A grant of £3,200 was given from the LEBRF and the tower is one of those open for ringing on the LEBRF Open Day in August.
