Tonbridge bells set to peal again after revamp

Volunteers move one of the refurbished bells back to St. Peter & St. Paul's in Tonbridge

Bells are set to peal over a Kent town again after a six month absence due to a refurbishment project.

St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Tonbridge, which had all eight of its bells refurbished, is now hoisting them back into position.

Gavin Knight, the Tower Keeper at the church, said he hopes the restoration will attract a new generation of bell-ringers.

"I can't wait to hear them again and I'd love for people to join us to learn this ancient art," he said.

"It's a fantastic free hobby. The church has got these bells that are there to be rung and it's great fun.

"I'm just hoping that new rings will come out of this tower for decades to come."

Tower Keeper Gavin Knight hopes the refurbished bells will attract a new generation of bell-ringers

People have been worshipping at the site since Saxon times, but the church as it stands today was developed in the 1870s.

The bells themselves have been tuned and recast in the early 1900s and 1950s but this is the first occasion that all eight of them have been refurbished at the same time.

Bell hanger Kit Bardsley from John Taylor & Co has overseen the refurbishment of the Tonbridge bells

Mr Knight added that the Tonbridge bells had a reputation for being hard to play as the clappers which strike the bell were difficult to tune.

He added: "We're now using 21st Century technology on 19th Century bells which will keep them on beat for anybody who wants to ring them."