Church needs £70,000 to keep its bells ringing

Bells in a Grade II listed village church need £70,000 of work to ensure they can continue to be rung.

The six bells at St Michael and All Angels in West Overton, Wiltshire, which have been rung since 1883, were previously deemed unsafe due to defects in the frame.

Following a community appeal after 16 years of silence, the bells were restored for the King's Coronation in 2023.

However, a report has now deemed that further work must be carried out, so regular bell ringing has been halted until funds can be raised.

Richard Metters, who is a bellringer at St George's Church in nearby Preshute, said he had driven past the church for many years hoping to hear the bells ring again before the 2023 restoration.

"A few of us did a lot of work in the tower to get them safe for ringing [in 2023] – they had to have almost daily inspections," he said.

Metters added: "We are here now where we've got five members of the local team almost up to Sunday service standard – and we need to fundraise to do a lot of work upstairs.

"Parts of the frame and the bits that hold the bells together are reaching end of shelf life. The bearings having been sat for years without moving, they are wearing out.

"They need £65,000 to £70,000 spent on them to get them up to a condition where they will last 200 years."

Debbie Marsh, who is the bell ringing leader, or tower captain, said she became involved when she heard the bells in the village after "years of only hearing a CD recording of the bells for weddings".

"I think everybody is quite keen to hear the bells and to hear them for a long, long time even when we're not ringing them," she said.

"[The sound] wafts across the Kennet Valley, they can all hear it, so it's lovely."

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