Villagers ring for the King after successful appeal
A village bell ringing group was able to sound the church bells for the King's coronation after a successful appeal for new members.
The Alveley Bellringers had lost many members over the years and were down to just three regular ringers in the village, which is eight miles outside of Bridgnorth.
When King Charles’ Coronation was announced, an appeal went out in the local Parish Magazine to recruit new ringers to be trained in time.
A successful open afternoon at the Belfry produced some locals willing to learn to "ring for the King" and practices started on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Not only did new members learn the skills needed to ring in the coronation, but one new bell-ringer found she had links to the bells she was ringing.
The Alveley Church bells were cast in 1779, the same year as the Ironbridge was built, by Thomas Rudhall of Gloucester
The inscription on the tenor bell is of Stephens Cresswell, a local farmer and landowner, buried in Alveley churchyard, and the great-great-great-great grandfather to new bell ringer, Kath Norgrove.
She said: "When I was growing up, I was told about the 'family bell' at the Church; but I never ever expected to ring it and certainly never imagined I'd be ringing for an event as momentous as a Coronation."
Some new family history is being created by the Stephenson family who have four members of the family learning together: Rachel Stephenson, with her son Jude Stephenson, daughter Lauren Collier and son-in-law Matt Collier.
Rachel Stephenson said: “I've always wanted to have a go at bellringing and 'Ring for the King' gave us the perfect opportunity to do something together as a family."
