A TEAM of bell ringers from Welcombe are set to go home after having spent time ringing at Clovelly while their bells were taken away for refurbishment.

The bells of Welcombe Church received a warm welcome when they were returned from Nicholson’s Engin­eering in Bridport, following refurbishment made possible by funding provided by the Landfill Communities Fund.

Regular worshippers and visitors to St Nectan’s Church, in Welcombe, have not heard their bells since last summer due to extensive damage to the frame supporting them, caused by south-westerly wind and rain.

In the mean time the keen team of ringers have been ringing at nearby Clovelly. Residents, regular visitors to the village and local businesses all became aware of the difference that the bells made. There was a noticeable difference whilst the bells were away from their usual ‘home’ as there was an absence of weddings at the church, which had a follow on effect on village hall bookings, trade in the pub, as well as B&B and holiday let bookings.

The project of restoration included having the tower re-pointed to avoid a recurrence of the problem and the replacement of the main beams supporting the bells by new, galvanized steels.

After months of fundraising, which included an impressive £13,000 donated locally, the project was finally able to be given the go ahead. This was also thanks to the good news received that Viridor Credits Environmental Company had awarded £20,000 through the Landfill Communities Fund.

The Devon Church Bell Restoration Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Devon Historic Churches Trust, John S Cohen Foundation and the AllChurches Trust gave further grants,

Gareth Williams, funded projects manager at Viridor Credits, said: “The level of local donations impressed the local steering group when this application was made, and the importance of the church in the village was underlined by the huge amount of support the project has received.”

Howard Pankhurst, who co-ordinated the project, said: “It is always amazing to find out the fantastic level of support you get from a tiny village of less than 200 people, who are willing to pull together to protect a significant landmark in the village, and very heartening to receive grant aid to the extent we have when we are so small a community.

“Once the bells are installed in the tower again, we should be back to normal in the next few weeks.”