Bid to bring back the bells
ACHURCH community is aiming to raise £20,000 to restore its eight bells - 25 years after they fell silent.
A resident took out a Noise Abatement Order against the eight bells in the tower at St Elisabeth’s Church in Reddish, silencing them for a quarter of a century.
The church bell-ringing team disbanded and the bells fell into disrepair, only to be rung on special occasions by experienced ringers.
But now the church is working to restore, not only the bells, but also the art of bell-ringing.
Local residents will have an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the building as members of the stunning Grade-I listed church will be celebrating a Local Heritage Day on Sunday, October 28.
Beginning at 12.30pm, the church will be open for guided tours, visits to the organ loft where the recently restored Hill organ sits and afternoon tea in the café.
There will be a chance to see the bells being rung and visitors will also have the opportunity to try bell-ringing for themselves. The afternoon’s events will be brought to a close at 3.30pm with a Choral Evensong service - the traditional afternoon prayer of the Church of England - where the church choir, who are often featured on the BBC’s ‘Songs of Praise’ programme, will lead the worship.
Rector, the Rev Angie Stanton, said “This church was once at the very heart of the community of Reddish and we are working hard to make it so again.
“We are using the church for concerts and music nights, for local groups and events and learning how to celebrate the history of the church so that it becomes part of the lives of the presentday community around it.”
Entry to the event at the church on Leamington Road is free though any donations towards the restoration of the bells will be gratefully accepted.
The Rev Stanton says she hopes the church can reach its goal next year and that the £20,000 goal is sufficient for the restoration - alongside heritage funding from Historic England.
She said: “We’d like to restore our historic bells so that a new generation of people can learn the art of ringing them. So many local youngsters want to try it that we’ve decided to set our sights on raising the £20,000 that it will take to do the work.
“With some help from the Historic England Fund, we believe we can do it in 2019.”