Lindfield church bells will ring once again after tower reconstruction

Since Spring of last year the clock tower and bells of All Saint’s Church have been out of action, as major work has been underway on the building.

After several years of fundraising and thanks to the generosity of the public, a plan is now underway for the Bell and Clock Project, which has run alongside the interior work within the church building.

In October 2018 the church clock mechanism was removed and sent to The Cumbria Clock Company workshop. Last month, the eight ringing bells were lowered from the tower and loaded onto a lorry for removal to the bell-hangers, Whites of Appleton.

In terms of the Lindfield bells this is a significant event, which only occurs once in a lifetime.

The last major bell work was carried out in 1887 when four new bells were added to the five already in the tower.

Three of these new bells were donated by Charles Eamer Kempe of Old Place, Lindfield, and the fourth by Sir William Sturdy of Paxhill Park.

This led to the retirement in 1887 of the oldest bell in the tower, cast in 1573, which has since been used to sound the chimes of the church clock.

Each of the historic bells taken from the tower are listed by the Council for Care of Churches as worthy of preservation.

So they will be restored and returned to the church where they will be hung ‘dead’ above the new eight ringing bells.