Visitors climb bell tower as Shropshire church celebrates anniversary

St Mary's Church in Stottesdon, near Bridgnorth, hosted the event to celebrate 10 years since its ancient bells rang out over the village for the first time in half a century.

The bells date back to the time before Queen Elizabeth I but had lain silent for more than 50 years.

The community saved about £25,000 getting the bells restored themselves and also obtained a £6,000 grant through Heritage Lottery fund to fix the church clock.

Bell ringer Mary Overton said: "The event went really well and we even had bell ringers from across the county coming down for the evening.

"People could climb the bell tower and because the evening was so nice we even opened the roof up so people could out across Shropshire.

"About 60 people made it to the top of the church and more than a 100 were in the church itself, so for a small venue like us we were very pleased with the turnout."

The exact date of the bells is unknown but they rang during the reign of Elizabeth I and were recast before American independence.

Mrs Overton, whose husband Derek is the tower captain, said visitors of all ages had come along to see church during Tuesday's open event and the bells had been rung at the end of the evening.

"We wanted to rally some support to keep the bells ringing and visitors enjoyed seeing them because they are unique," she said.

"They are a heritage peel and a bit of a one-off but every bell is different and each one needs handling in a different way.

"They had been silent for about 56 years until being restored in June 2005."

The church is Grade I listed and its tower dates back to late 11th century with the chancel and most of the remainder dating back to 1330.

It contains a number of old relics including a carved stone lintel dating to the Anglo-Saxon period, some time between 450 and 1066, a carved Norman font and a medieval stained glass window dating to the early 14th century.