St Mary the Virgin Church in Harby has been awarded a grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to promote and share the heritage of bells and bellringing in its rural community.
Harby Parochial Church Council (PCC) recently announced the £77,293 grant, which will be used to promote the art of change-ringing and create a local ringing centre to teach and progress bellringers, helping to secure the future of church bell ringing.
The art of change-ringing is almost unique to the British Isles, but fewer people are trained in the art. Without this funding from National Lottery players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund the art could be lost forever, and the bells at Harby become silent.
The project will see the complete restoration of the church bells by Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough, the addition of a sixth bell, and installation of two training bells, simulator and specialist software to teach and promote the art of change ringing. CCTV will be installed so that the public can see how the bells are rung, enabling inclusion and participation.
The work should start in early 2025, and the bells will be out of the tower for around four months. In addition, the project will also see the Church Handbells fully restored for community use.
A public engagement programme will run until March 2027, including stalls at local events, a talk on the history and heritage of bellringing by a local historian, trips to Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough, as well as tower open days to recruit and train new bellringers in the area.
Revd Paul Towns, Vicar of Harby, and PCC Chair said: “We now have an excellent opportunity to augment the bells at Harby Church and upgrade their mechanics, thanks to National Lottery players and the Heritage Fund. A local hub for teaching new bellringers will use modern technology to progress existing bellringers, whilst increasing awareness of bells and bellringing through community involvement and events.
“It will be a real joy for the local primary school children to be involved and to visit the foundry in this ‘once every hundred years’ event.”
He continued: “The Bells project marks the first stage of preserving our church for use by the community and future generations. It has been the centre of Harby for centuries and continues to be a valued public resource for celebration, prayer and comfort, impacting positively on the lives of our village community.”
The project has also received donations from The Leicester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, The Framland Society of Ringers, Harby Harlequins Community Chest, as well as from the local community.
Up to date news on the project can be found on the Project’s Facebook page “Harby Bell Restoration Project” or by emailing the project team at harbybells@gmail.com