Bells to ring out once more in the Shropshire hills

Two historic bells have returned home to the Church of St John the Baptist in Myndtown, near Church Stretton, after being carefully packaged up and sent off for analysis and conservation work in February.

The pair have now been dated – confirming one as among the oldest in the country – and had work to done to conserve them before being hoisted back in place at the building, more commonly known simply as Myndtown Church.

The church is a rare surviving example of 12th century farmers church, siting nestled on the side of the Long Mynd, and is currently undergoing a £220,000 renovation to preserve it for future generations, thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant for extensive works to be carried out – a boon for supporters after it was judged to be in “poor condition” by Historic England in 2015.

The funding, which paid for the restoration of the bells, is also being used to mend the ancient structure of the church, from its bulging walls to its ancient timbers.

John Burt, project manager for the renovation, said the end was now in sight with much of the scaffolding now down and a celebratory "re-opening" of the church after its make-over pencilled in for July 30.

He said more than two dozen bell experts and enthusiasts, including bell ringers from Bishop's Castle, had come along for return of the bells, to get a last up-close glimpse before they were safely ensconced once more in the ancient bellcote atop the church – hopefully to stay there for decades or even centuries to come.

He said John Geach, bell captain of the Bishop's Castle bell ringers had been particularly moved by experience of seeing the bells, pronouncing them beautiful. Though hundreds of years old, the bells will now be rung once more, though only on special occasions and under strict supervision.

Mr Burt said: "The two ancient bells of St John the Baptist Church of Myndtown returned to their home today, following conservation measures undertaken by TLB Services in Nottinghamshire as part of the church’s Heritage Lottery Fund restoration project, currently nearing completion.

"One bell has been dated by experts as no later than 1500 and the other at 1150, making it possibly the third oldest of the 65,000 listed in the National Bell Register.

"Neither Rick Green nor Ian Hasman of TLB Services, who accompanied the bells on their journey, had ever seen a bell as old as the elder one.

“Discovering the importance of these bells to the national heritage was a key achievement of the project. Work is now proceeding apace to complete all the work and to prepare for a re-opening party in July,” he said.

Rick Green said: “I have seen thousands of bells but never one as old as that. It was a fantastic opportunity to work on conserving it, it was a real privilege.

"The casting of this bell was of higher quality than the newer one. The metal mix was perfect and I have to take my hat off to its founder.

"The work was very sensitively done and very little replacements were made to the fittings, including the ancient oak levers," he added.