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The bells of St Laurence church in Alvechurch, Worcestershire date from 1711 and have been ringing across the village for nearly 300 years. There are eight bells ranging in weight from 4 to 12 hundredweight (200 to 600 kg) and the ringers of St Laurence ring them in the traditional English pattern of Change Ringing. |
![[Closeup of the canon on a bell]](media/images/smallcanon.jpg "Closeup of the canon on a bell at St Laurence")
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The bells have survived three centuries but are showing signs of wear and we need to raise £60,000 to have them repaired and refurbished. The work is expensive because we have to retain as much of the eighteenth century structure as we can. These pages describe the problems we are facing, the work that we need to do, and the progress we've made towards raising the money.
Future Events
We have a full season of events planned for the next 12 months. More details here and around the village closer to the date.
- Easter 2008 - Julie Kirkbride MP visited us on Easter Saturday to see how we were getting on and to return her Mini Eggs tube.
- March 2008 - Nothing to do with the fund-raising as such but the St Laurence team entered the Worcestershire Northern Branch Striking Competition on March 1st and came first in the Call Changes section.
- February 2008 - We will be giving away free tubes of Cadbury's Mini Eggs in the weeks before Shrove Tuesday. The only catch is that we expect you to fill the empty tube with your loose coins during Lent and bring it back to us at Easter.
- April 2008 - Gemini Choir will be visiting St Laurence again to give another concert in aid of the bell fund. Doors open at 7:30 pm on April 26th. Tickets will be £8 each and available in the village at the end of February.
- June 2008 - Table Top Sale in the Ark. Contact a ringer if you would like to take a table or if you would like to donate articles to our table.
Donations
Visit our donations page and help us towards our target. You can use your credit card on-line or print out a GiftAid form.
The Bell Fund is raising money on behalf of St Laurence Church. We are working under the following Terms of Reference.