Community backs church in £140,000 Bell and Tower Appeal
The community of St Winnow has thrown itself behind an appeal by St Winnow Church to secure the future of its tower and bells.
The church has just launched its appeal to raise £140,000 to complete essential work on the tower structure and install eight new bells – and on August 20 the church will be throwing open its doors for its annual summer fayre and inviting the public to come and hear about the work being done and the opportunities for the future.
Elizabeth Shufflebotham, St Winnow Parochial Church Council (PCC) Secretary and Bell and Tower Appeal organiser, said: “Our summer fayre will be a fantastic opportunity to come and visit the church, see all the work we have done so far and hear about our appeal and why we need to raise £140,000.”
The 15th Century, Grade 1 listed church has already seen substantial work undertaken to strength the tower after structural damage was discovered during a planned programme of works to replace the roofing material on the
tower in 2014/2015.
Louise Lubbock, project architect for the installation of the new frame and bells and internal works to the tower, said: “When the damage to the tower walls was discovered in February 2015 we had to stop the bells from ringing. We then had three months of necessary work to make the tower structurally secure, which included repointing the outside of the tower.
“Our structural engineer then made us aware that the problems would be likely to occur again if we did not address the bell situation. Our existing six 18th and 19th century bells are very heavy and difficult to ring and they were stressing the tower.”
Following consultations with the PCC, it was agreed that work would be
undertaken to conserve and protect the old bells and then to leave them in situ. Eight additional new, lighter bells would then be installed lower down in the church tower.
Elizabeth said: “We have a very large bell-ringing community here and many of them were unable to ring our old bells because they were so heavy. The new bells will be lighter and more manageable making them accessible for all ages. By having them lower down in the tower we will also be protecting the tower structure because the walls are thicker and better supported at that level.”
Supporting the church in its appeal is St Winnow CE Primary School. Richard Hoskins, Head of School, at St Winnow CE School, said: “The staff and pupils at are very excited about supporting the project. We regularly visit the church and the pupils enjoy learning about its history. As a school, we will be fundraising through non-uniform days and other activities throughout the year in order to support this great cause.”
The church also has a large and active Friends group boasting more than
100 members and they have already made a contribution to the appeal, as have Truro Diocesan Guild of Ringers among others.
Canon John Halkes, appeal co-ordinator, said: “The initial response to the church council’s appeal has been wonderfully reassuring and generous. The support of the Friends of St Winnow, Cornwall Historic Churches Trust and many individual donors has got us off to a fine start. Projects on this visionary scale need the involvement of so many people and we draw on the gifts of enthusiastic fundraisers, helpful charities, skilful architects and constructors – and, not least, members of the public who appreciate our historic church for its powerful presence in our community and its witness to so many visitors to Cornwall. The new bells will speak of our unity and rejoicing.”
Elizabeth added: “We will be applying to different grant funding sources to help us raise the money but many of them require match-funding, hence our need to get as much support as we can from our communities.”
The work has been divided into three phases with pre-project preparation work on the tower already underway. It is hoped that the first phase of the project will start in November with the commissioning, installation and hanging of the new bells complete by next summer.
Louise said: “We are hoping it will all be complete in time for our summer fayre next year so we can then invite everyone back to hear the new bells.”
Summer Fayre, August 20: 2-5pm, cream teas, games, stalls, refreshments and more. There will also be the opportunity to have a go on a portable, eight-bell mini ring and see and learn how to ring church bells
Bell & Tower Appeal Schools bell ringing project
Sponsor a bell: skypilot607@gmail.com or 01208 873458 (Canon John Halkes)