Historic Nottingham church bells to ring after a year of silence thanks to generous donations

The bells of the 500-year-old St. Mary’s Church have been silent for a year but are being prepared to sound again. Donations have meant that the historic and civic church located in the Lace Market will be able to ring out to celebrate the crowning of King Charles III on May 6.

The church has been unable to ring the bells since May 2022 due to structural risks as one of the ringers reported the south wall moving during a bell-ringing session. Engineers who assessed the damage estimated that the cost for repairs would be at least £185,000. This is due to the amount of scaffolding needed, then dismantling and rebuilding the wall.

The total has been reached through a mixture of grant funding and community donations from residents determined to fix the historic bells. It has been an incredible team effort to raise the money needed to fix the walls.

Vicar at St Mary’s, Tom Gillum, said: “It was a shock to learn about the wall. The bells are extremely heavy and whenever they are rung, they put pressure on the beams. This impacts the building, so we had to make the difficult decision to cease ringing, even over Christmas.

“It became clear that without significant funds, we may not be able to ring them for some time. But since as far back as the reign of Henry IV in 1399, these bells have rung out at every coronation, and it was difficult to imagine that they would remain silent on the upcoming occasion for our new King.”

The Nottingham Civic Society gave a generous grant which was followed by many donations including several large contributions from residents. The funds have allowed contractors to start the works which will last for about 20 weeks.

The work will not be completed in time for the coronation but having the scaffolding in place will allow the bells to be rung safely for the celebration.

Tom Gillum added: “It’s brilliant news we now have enough to complete the repairs and ensure the bells will ring for the King – and hopefully for another 500 years. We couldn’t have succeeded in this fundraiser without the incredible support shown by all those who have donated. Every little bit goes such a long way to ensuring our community can continue to enjoy and celebrate with the beautiful bells of St Mary’s.”

The church is Grade I listed and it is the largest remaining Medieval building in Nottingham. It is the third church to stand on the historic site in the Lace Market as Nottingham was burned down three times in the 12th century and St. Mary’s Church was destroyed and rebuilt. Despite this, evidence can still be seen of the Norman church.