Bells to peal for 400th year before tower repairs

A church bell cast nearly 400 years ago will fall silent for six months in its quatercentenary year as vital repair work begins on a 15th-century bell tower.

The £100,000 scheme to address damp and replace eroded stonework at St John the Baptist in Spetisbury, Dorset, follows a two-year fundraising effort by parishioners.

The heaviest of six bells in the tower weighs 0.9 tonnes (1,900lbs), measures 110cm in diameter (44in), and an inscription shows it was cast in 1626.

To mark the tenor bell's landmark year, and with the repairs due to start on the grade I listed church, bellringers will hold a final special peal on Saturday 3 January.

Rector, the Reverend Carolyn Couzens, said: "The church... is extremely grateful for the support of those in the local community who have been amazing at helping us raise the other funds needed.

"This project would not be possible without the local residents and their support."

Ms Couzens said £42,000 had also been raised through grants from the Diocesan Minor Works Fund, the Dorset Historic Churches Trust, Erskine Muton Fund, Benefact and Garfield Weston Foundation.

Bellringer Steve Dawes said the tenor was the heaviest of 24 bells cast by John Dawton between 1626 and 1637.

Mr Dawes said it was tuned to the note of E, but added: "In those very early days, tuning was done by chipping lumps off the inside of the bells using a hammer and chisel."

Much of the flint church was built in 1858, although parts date back as far as the late 12th Century, with the tower constructed in the late 15th or early 16th Century.

Church services and activities will continue as normal throughout the works.

Ms Couzens said: "We look forward to the bells being rung again in the summer of 2026."