THERE was a packed service on Friday, Novemebr 18, for the re-dedication of the tower and bells of St Nectan’s Church, Welcombe, held during a service of thanksgiving celebrated by the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton.

The bells rang out again after a year of silence to let everyone know that the project to weatherproof the tower and put the bells back to first-class order was now complete.

The frame that supported the bells had become badly corroded due to water coming in through the tower, which had to be completely re-pointed.

A total cost of around £80,000 was a hard target to chase, but, thanks to the generosity of residents and friends of Welcombe, over £13,000 was donated through local support for all the fundraising events that were held over the last year.

Viridor Credits Environmental Company granted £20,000 through the Landfill Communities Fund, and other grants from bodies including the Devon Church Bell Restoration Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Devon Historic Churches Trust, John S Cohen Foundation, the AllChurches Trust and the Sharpe Trust were received.

Gareth Williams, funded projects manager at Viridor Credits, said: “I was fortunate enough to visit St Nectan’s towards the end of the project and I was impressed with the amount of community support the project has received. The Landfill Communities Fund exists to preserve our heritage and the team at St Nectan’s can feel rightly proud of what has been achieved.”

The church now has a weatherproof tower housing what is, to all intents and purposes, a new installation of bells, although the oldest one dates back to 1731, and all this is now in place for the benefit of generations to come so that they can continue to call the faithful to worship as they have for 500 years.

Rev Brenda Jacobs, team rector of the Hartland Coast Mission Community, said: “It was a wonderful occasion, despite lashing rain, sleet and floods nothing was going to stop the people of Welcombe giving thanks for their restored bells and tower.

“The church here is kept going through the dedication of a small number of hardworking people who gather week by week faithfully keeping up the witness of generations past. Now we have created a legacy for the generations, which are to follow. We have much to give thanks for.”