Little Cornard church installs restored bells in preparation for Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day commemorations in Little Cornard will have a distinctly different ring to them next weekend.
This is because residents will mark 100 years since Armistice Day with the sound of the church bells reverberating through the village for the first time in living memory.
The community began the process at the end of last month of installing five restored bells and a sixth new treble to the top of the tower at All Saints’ Church, following a fundraising campaign to raise £130,000.
Robert Mackman, vice-chairman of the All Saints’ Church Bells Committee that spearheaded the fundraising push over the last five years, told the Free Press they are delighted by the success of the restoration project.
“The bells have gone up, and we are now just getting all the fixtures and fitting installed,” he said. “It’s really exciting to have them back.
“This is a culmination of five years of fundraising and hard work, and I’m proud to have led it.
“I’m quite emotional that, at last, it’s done.”
It is expected that Little Cornard will hear the restored and retuned bells ahead of the village’s Remembrance Sunday services on November 11.
A service of dedication is also set to take place at the church on Saturday, December 1, at 3pm, led by the Rt Rev Dr Mike Harrison, the Bishop of Dunwich.
Supporters of the project are invited to attend the service and celebrate the efforts of the community.
The five restored ancient bells date back to between 1399 and 1712, while the new sixth bell, a two-foot diameter treble, was cast back in February of this year.
As part of the restoration, the bells have been dedicated to key people in the project, with their names engraved into the metal.
The tributes include long-time supporter, the late Rev Tony Moore, and the late Michael Ford, son of All Saints’ Bells Committee fundraising secretary Lesley Ford-Platt, who died in 2010 at the age of 30.
