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Aylsham: Joy as repaired historic bells return to church

Julie Boyd Bells outside the parish church in AylshamJulie Boyd
The 10 bells were restored and retuned before travelling back to the Aylsham church on Monday evening

A church's historic bells, one of which dates from 1700, have been welcomed back following a £40,000 restoration.

The bells of the parish church have marked centuries of Sunday services, weddings and celebrations in Aylsham, Norfolk, but fell silent due to damage.

They were brought down to the ground in March - the first time since 1961 - and have since returned after their repair.

Rev Julie Boyd said: "People have been telling me how joyful they are that the bells are coming back.

"They are really looking forward to hearing them sound out across the town again.

"They had not heard them since Covid, and of course in March 2021 [when damage was discovered] we were just starting to come out of that, but we couldn't ring them because of these cracks."

Guy Barker Matthew Boyd, fabric officer at the church, with a bell and a tractorGuy Barker
Matthew Boyd, fabric officer at the church, helped transport the restored bells from a lorry to the church
Andy Trigg/BBC Aylsham Parish ChurchAndy Trigg/BBC
It had taken three days to bring the bells down from the tower
Guy Barker Church bells decked with flowersGuy Barker
The bells were decked with flowers inside the church

Seven of the 10 bells were deemed too unsafe to ring when workmen found damage to the crowns while refurbishing the bearings.

It sparked a year-long fundraising push by the church and community to restore the bells and let them ring again.

In March, with the target achieved, it took three days to bring the bells down from the tower, which Rev Boyd described as a "momentous event", with people gathering to watch.

'Heart-warming'

Andy Trigg/BBC Rev Julie BoydAndy Trigg/BBC
Rev Julie Boyd said the bells would probably not be seen at ground-level again "for a very long time"

The bells were then sent to a specialist restorer in Newmarket, Suffolk, before being refitted and retuned in Bridport, Dorset.

"There's been a huge outpouring of great generosity and donations from grant givers but also local individuals and companies, people clearly wanting the bells back ringing," added Rev Boyd.

"It has been heart-warming and encouraging and just extraordinarily generous."

Julie Boyd Dean of Norwich, the Very Reverend Dr Andrew BraddockJulie Boyd
The Dean of Norwich, the Very Reverend Dr Andrew Braddock, blessed the bells

The bells were laid out in the south aisle on Monday, decorated with flowers and rededicated at a service led by the Dean of Norwich, Dr Andrew Braddock.

They will be reinstalled over the next few days and tested before ringing out regularly once more.

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