A Durham community will celebrate a special centenary for a unique set of church bells which were recast 100 years ago.
The bells at St Mary’s, Staindrop will ring out before and after a special centenary service which will take place on Saturday, 5 April.
The blessing and rededication service will be attended by the Rt Revd Frank White, Assistant Bishop of Durham, and will conclude with the cutting of a centenary cake.
Bell ringing at Staindrop dates back hundreds of years – but the current centenary will mark a significant period in the mid-1920s, when an older set of bells (from 1787) were deemed unsafe to ring and needed to be recasted.
It inspired a community-wide fundraising project, before Taylors & Co. of Loughborough were appointed to carry out the precision work. The bells were augmented from six to eight, while the old oak beams were replaced with steel and the bells hung in a new iron frame.
In April 1925, the new bells were blessed by the Bishop of Durham, ringing out for the first time on Palm Sunday.
“It’s wonderful that we can mark this occasion 100 years on,” said Mark Palmer, who is tower captain at St Mary’s. “Bell ringing here dates all the way back to 1552, so we really wanted to celebrate all of this remarkable history.”
A specially made ‘Bells Cake’ has been sponsored by the church’s patron, Lord Barnard, who will cut the cake after the service, when refreshments will be made available for parishioners, supporters and bell ringers.
Mark is a bell ringer of 35 years’ experience. As tower captain he will head a band of bell ringers from across the area, who will perform on the day of the service.
The sounding of the bells will be particularly poignant for bell ringing at Staindrop, as the church tries to revive the once popular pastime.
Back in 1979, the bells were overhauled and re-hung by Col. Dale Trotter and Mrs Aidie Fife, in memory of their mother Mrs Katie Trotter who had worshipped at Staindrop for over 40 years.
Two decades later, Betty Poole, who was tower captain at the time, pulled together a band to ring for the Millennium, but regular ringing stopped shortly afterwards.
In more recent times, the bells fell silent during the Coronavirus pandemic, but now Mark and the tower team are ringing for every Sunday service, weddings and for other special occasions, with support from the Teasdale Bell Ringers.
Mark added: “We want to get everyone thinking about bell ringing again. People have a mystique about it, but it is really a diverse and very fulfilling hobby.
“There has been some interest from within the community. I think people are interested in what is going on here and we’d love them to consider getting involved.”
The band is working with the Association of Ringing Teachers and is able to use the latest teaching methods to help people become efficient bell ringers.”
The service will take place at St Mary’s, Staindrop, on Saturday 5 April at 10.30am.
Mark and the band of bell ringers will also be performing on Thursday 8 May, as part of celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Photo: Mark Palmer (third from left) with the band of bell ringers pictured at St Mary's, Staindrop.