Brochure Page 2

History of the bells

The tower of St Laurence church was built in the 15th century and we know that the top section was rebuilt in 1676 after a storm. The original five bells were recast in 1711 by a local bellfounder in the village of Edgbaston and the rector John Jephcott augmented them to a ring of six by adding the tenor.

The bells of St Laurence have seen many changes in their 300 years of service. The tenor bell was melted down and recast by an Oxford founder in 1845. We don't know why they had to take such drastic action but the bell needs attention again 160 years after being remade. Two more bells were added in 1891 to commemorate the appointment of Rev. Jex Blake as the Dean of Wells and this brought the tower to the full ring of eight bells which it holds today.

Our restoration work will be the biggest project in the tower since 1891 and will be the first time that the five oldest bells have been out of the tower since 1711. We plan to have the work completed by 2011 so that we can celebrate their 300th anniversary with a peal on the restored bells.

The bells would be of little use without the ringers. The ringing team has always represented a wide cross-section of village life. The current team range from schoolchildren to pensioners and all give their time to make sure that the bells continue to ring across Alvechurch.