THE church bells of St Andrew’s Church, Colebrooke, were returned on Friday, March 23 by Whites of Appleton from their factory in Oxfordshire, where they had been refurbished.

Fred Oliver, chairman of the Church Bell Restoration Committee, said: “New headstocks of cast iron had replaced the assortment of headstocks that were attached when the bells went away. These were then painted blue.

“While at the factory, the bells were re-tuned to be in harmony with the fourth bell, which is the oldest. It was originally cast at the Pennington Foundry in Exeter in 1627 and has not been re-cast since.”

Mr Oliver said that getting the bells through the doorway of the tower and arranging them on the floor took nearly three hours and involved as he described: “…much pushing and pulling, grunting and groaning. This was especially true of the tenor bell, which weighs over 17cwt without its headstock!”

On Monday, March 26, the process of raising the bells into the bell chamber, attaching them to bell frame and connecting them to the bell wheels, to which the bell ropes are attached, began.

He added: “It is anticipated that the bells will be ready to ring before the end of April.”

Alan Quick