Village near Lancaster to get special Christmas present after raising £100k for new church bells

The sound will mark the completion of their Platinum Jubilee Project, launched on Jubilee Day in June 2022.

The original three bells in the church had become unsafe to ring some years ago and so as a community project a small group of volunteers were able to obtain eight replacement bells from a closed church in Accrington and raise more than £100,000 to have them installed in the ancient church of this rural village.

The plans for the project caught the imagination of other residents and the parish council decided to adopt it as a commemoration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Lancaster and, subsequent to her death, of the Accession of the new Duke of Lancaster, King Charles III. One of the new bells bears an inscription to this effect.

Over the last year volunteers have been involved in removing the old bells and modifying the structure of the tower to accept the eight new ones.

These will be delivered to the church in the week beginning December 11, to be fitted the following week, and the first time they will be rung for the village to hear is planned for 9am on December 25, a suitable Christmas present for all those who have worked so hard, or donated money, to allow this historic project to be completed so quickly.