WORK began this week to reinstall a set of church bells that have barely been rung since the 1980s, after a five-year long campaign of fundraising and building work.

The bells at St Peters Church, Newnham-on- Severn, were recast in 1603, in 1810 and in 1894.

The ones on site in 2014, however, when fundrai- sing began in earnest, weighed almost twice as much as the original bells in the tower.

The bells and frame were restored over the winter and a team of a dozen volunteers has helped bell hangers, Nicholson Engineering, reinstall them.

Bell hanger Ian Hasman admitted: “This is one of the more complex projects, with lots of awkward bits and pieces to put together, but there’s a great bunch of volunteers helping out.”

Everything arrived on the back of a flatbed lorry on Monday, May 20, and was loaded onto trolleys and transferred to the nave of the church. The week was then spent hoisting it up the four hatchways to the top of the tower.

Volunteer Ken Whalley said: “This is an amazing project and I feel privi- leged to be involved. I didn’t realise how complicated and heavy all the metal work would be.”

Volunteer Nick Assirati added: “It’s something I’ll be proud of having helped with in future.”

The frame was one of the first cast iron frames made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London.

Over the years it had become unstable and corroded. Nicholson’s shot-blasted and recoated all the components, adding six extra braces to improve stability.

Newnham is famous for its carillon, which plays tunes every three hours by activating hammers on the side of the bells. All hammers have had to be rebedded so that they can strike the smaller bells.

Local bell ringer and project coordinator, Andy Vivian, said: “It is brilliant to see the end in sight and to be part of the team involved in making that happen.”

Alan Curtis was churchwarden in 2014 and helped kickstart the project. He said: “What an exciting and emotional moment it was to see the bells back in Newnham church.

“Records show that the bells were rung regularly in the early 1900s, fell silent during the Second World War, then rung less frequently until the 1970s.

“They were patched up in 1982 and for about five years from 1987, a number of Newnham teenagers learnt bell-ringing, but found the bells difficult and progress slow.

“And now within a relatively short space of time they will ring out once more across the fields and forest to call people to worship.”

Those involved with the project hope that a rededication service can take place in July.