Bells return to Stafford church after five-year restoration

Bell ringer Pat Jones said it had been sad to hear the silence from St Mary's bell tower

A set of 20 bells has been restored and returned to a church in Staffordshire.

They include 10 which were given to St Mary's Collegiate Church in Stafford by a deconsecrated church in Hanley.

Some of the bells were made in the 17th Century and two of the bells had to be recast at a foundry in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Bell ringer Pat Jones said it would be emotional to see them ring again for the King's coronation and added: "We were silent here and it was so sad."

She said some of the other bell ringers had been ringing bells elsewhere while the restoration was carried out.

"We will be able to ring out joyfully when the king is crowned," she said.

Tower captain Nigel Horritt said the work had become necessary because there were becoming harder to ring, because of their age and condition.

He said the 10 bells which had come from St John's in Hanley had a place in history because two of them were engraved with the names of five choir members who lost their lives in the First World War.

The restoration, which was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, started five years ago and has been completed in time for the bells to be rung in May, when King Charles is crowned.

Work is under way to erect the structures which will support the bells and a blessing service for the bells has taken place.

Father Richard Grigson said: "When these bells ring it will be a very significant moment and almost a thanksgiving moment."

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