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Flamstead bells from 1664 removed for retuning work

BBC A bell hanging in St Leonard's ChurchBBC
Five of the six bells were cast in 1664 and the treble bell was cast in 1729

Church bells dating back to the 17th Century have been removed to allow restoration work to take place.

The bells of St Leonard's Church in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, are believed to have only been taken down one other time since their installation in 1664.

On Tuesday, all six bells were removed once again and placed on display on the grade I listed church, ahead of repair work later this week.

The bells are due to be returned in February.

The job will cost about £50,000, compared to the £245 back in 1928.

A bell being removed in the church
The bells were removed using a pulley system
Bells sit in the middle of St Leonard's church
The bells were briefly on display in the church from Tuesday until Wednesday morning

Local charity Friends of St Leonard's provided a large contribution to the cost, but help also came from local bell-ringers through the District Bell Fund and County Bell Fund.

Bell-ringer Glyn Jenkins said the bells, which have not been seen up close since 1928, were dirty but in a reasonable condition with no cracks.

Describing ringing the bells, he said: "You can feel and hear the wear and tear in the mechanism above you, you can hear the whole frame moving about, so it will be quite reassuring to know that's all sorted."

The six bells will be sent to a bell foundry in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where they will be cleaned and restoration work will begin.

The bells will then be tuned, the wooden frame that supports them reinforced and various wooden and metal mechanisms will be replaced to allow the bells to run more smoothly.

St Leonard's church
Although a Saxon church was built on the site in 825, St Leonard's was built between 1120 and 1220
A bell inscribed with the words "Chandler made me"
Five of the bells were made by Anthony Chandler in 1664, his inscription still visible on the bell itself

It is expected the bells will be returned to Flamstead in February, when they will be on display in St Leonard's before being rehung in the tower.

"Sadly we'll miss Christmas this year but they'll sound all the better when they get back," said Mr Jenkins.

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