Church's 500-year-old bell to ring again

A 500-year-old church bell will be rung for the first time in more than a decade after repairs to its tower are completed.

The bell at the Church of Our Lady in Seaton, Northumberland, has been out of use since 2010 because it was feared the sound of its ringing would make cracks in the building worse.

But the chapel, located near Seaton Delaval Hall, has received £245,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to allow it to be repaired.

Bob Kermode, a parishioner and member of the Friends of the Church of Our Lady group, said the sound of the bell was "magical" and the work would allow it to "ring out again".

"It's the voice of the church and it proclaims weddings and funerals and celebration occasions to everybody," he said.

The Grade I-listed church is still in use as an active place of worship and was originally founded more than 900 years ago.

It was consecrated by Bishop Flambard of Durham in 1102 and incorporated an earlier Saxon church.

The restoration work, called the Ringing Through Time project, will also involve improving the churchyard and making it better for wildlife.

The funding will also be used to train volunteers to research the churchyard's history and carry out interviews to record people's memories of it.

Scaffolding has now been erected to allow the work to be carried out so the church can reopen in time for four weddings to take place later this year.

"The pressure is on to get this project finished and everything clean, because the bride and groom are coming in the middle of August," said Kermode.

"And the bell has got to ring."

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