Kent News - Bells ringing out to mark celebration of churches

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Friday, September 3 2010, 6:49

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Bells ringing out to mark celebration of churches

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St Michael's in East Peckham

The 40th anniversary of the Churches Conservation Trust will be marked today by bells ringing out from belfries around the UK, including two in Kent.

The event has been dubbed Birthday Bells and 70 churches in Britain are taking part to mark the start of a year-long celebration.

The Trust is a national charity that cares for England's finest historic churches that are no longer required for regular worship.

The bells will ring, chime and peal as these historic buildings celebrate their place in the heart of communities across England and encourage people to seek them out.

Two churches in Kent are taking part and will be opening their doors to provide unparalleled opportunities for people to not only see and hear ancient bells being rung but also explore these unique historic spaces at the heart of their community.

The first is St Michael's in East Peckham. The Trust said this church has glorious views over the Medway valley to the Weald.

It said the impressive church originates from Norman times, and the bell ringers are planning to ring a quarter peal of 1,260 changes which will take about 40 minutes to ring.

The ringers all regularly ring together at Canterbury Cathedral and ages range from 17 to early 60s.

The second church taking part will be St Thomas à Becket, in Capel, near Tonbridge.

The Trust, which cares for 340 historic churches around the UK and constantly needed donations, said: "Venture inside this small Norman Wealden church to discover extensive 13th century wall paintings covering much for the north wall of the nave."

It said more Kent churches would have taken part, if they had been able to.

It said: "Many historic churches are in desperate need of repair and cannot take part in the bell ringing celebrations because their bells are broken or missing or the building's fabric is degraded.

"This means the churches cannot be fully enjoyed by the local community and its historical importance is at risk of being lost."
There are two in Kent which need immediate help.

One is St Mary's in Higham which is set on the edge of the Kent marshes.

It was the inspiration for the opening chapter of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

The church needs considerable conservation work to including plastering and redecoration and improved electrics to show off its beauty to the large numbers of visitors coming to it.

Also in need of help now is St Peter's Church in Sandwich.

POSTED: 21/02/2009 10:00:00

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