The Stanwick Group of Churches
St James’ the Great Church, Melsonby
Bell Restoration Project
Thank you for your interest in the Bell Project, if you would like to know more, please contact the project team by emailing us at melsonbybells@gmail.com or by calling Graham on 07881 022 353.
About the project
Church bells are the sound of England, in our villages, towns and cities, bells provide the background for celebrations and worship. Full-circle ringing, as it is known, was developed in England and has been exported to only a handful of countries by ex-pats.
The church of St James’ the Great, Melsonby, is part of the Benefice of three churches in the Stanwick Group of Churches, it has four bells, one dating from 1370. Unfortunately, the bells are held on old worn-out fittings and are not tuned to a musical scale, so they do not sound as pleasant as they could.
Four years ago, a group of villagers, all non-bell ringers, formed a band dedicated to revitalising the practice of ringing the church bells. Despite remedial maintenance being carried out in 2006 the bells had not been rung regularly for forty years.
The band of bell ringers remains active, with weekly practice and rings for Sunday services, weddings and state occasions. The bell ringing band attracts a steady stream of new ringers of all ages, currently from 16 to 70. Sadly, we are unable to retain many of these ringers because the bells are very challenging to ring. The bells currently hang on worn and outdated fixings and have a long un-guided draft (i.e. the distance between the ringer and the bells). Moreover, having only four bells severely restricts what can be taught and learnt and what can be rung by the more experienced ringers. Additionally, the four existing bells are not on a musical scale.
We have, therefore, initiated a project to install eight properly tuned bells. This will make the bells easier to ring for inexperienced ringers and much more fulfilling for the more experienced ones.
We also propose to install an adjustable sound reducing system in the bell tower, so that the bells do not disturb our neighbours on practice nights. A new ceiling will be installed in the ringing chamber to reduce the unguided rope distance between the bells and the ringers, thereby making the bells easier to ring and balancing the sound for the ringers. The frame that will hold the new bells cannot fit into the tower without the removal of a weight chute (a wooden cupboard that houses the weights for the church clock). So, finally, we propose to remove the weight chute and automate the clock.
Project Costs & Funding
The total cost of the project is £152,000, since the start of the project in January 2024 over £80,000 has been raised but we are seeking further donations and sponsorship to allow us to complete the work.
Donations
If you would like to support the project, donations of any amount would be much appreciated. These can be made through our online giving page.
Visit the CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) website, select 'donate' and search for 'PCC of St James' the Great, Melsonby' or you can use the URL address:
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/27567
Alternatively, you can call Graham Smith on 07881 022 353.
We are also offering eight bells for individual or group sponsorship. Of these four have already been taken, leaving four available for sponsorship at the time of print. Six of the bells, which date from 1870, have been acquired from the redundant church of All Saints, Woodlesford, Leeds. The sponsorship, therefore, is not specifically to cover the purchase costs of the bells, but to support the overall costs of the project, including bell refurbishment, re-tuning and installation on modern fittings.
Sponsors can have an inscription of their choice on the bell and since bells last for hundreds of years, this offers a unique opportunity to create a lasting legacy. Inscriptions found on bells include ‘family’ bell that record the name of the family, bells in memory of a loved one and bells that celebrate an event such a marriage or birth.
If you are considering sponsoring a bell, please see the ‘Information for Bell Sponsors’ document that is also on this website or email us at melsonbybells@gmail.com or by calling Graham on 07881 022 353.
Many thanks