Great Malvern Priory bells removed for restoration project

The bells will be retuned and returned to Great Malvern Priory in July

The bells from a historic Worcestershire church have been taken down as part of restoration work.

Great Malvern Priory's existing eight bells will be taken to Whitechapel bell foundry in East London to be retuned.

The foundry has already made two new bells to be added to the peal at the church, which dates from 1085.

A stronger frame will be installed in the belfry as the present one moves when the bells are rung. The bells will be returned in July.

The bells were lowered through the ornate roof of the priory

The bells will be transported to London on a low loader

The tenor bell, the heaviest of the existing eight, weighs 1,101kg (1.2 tons).

The priory was once part of a large monastery founded by St Wulstan, the Bishop of Worcester, shortly after the Norman conquest.

When the monastery was destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII the priory was saved by local people, and became a parish church.

The existing eight bells will be retuned in London and two new bells added