Church bells rung for restoration

The two oldest existing bells at St Margaret's were cast in 1686

A village's church bells are being rung for the last time on New Year's Eve before a restoration project.

Only seven of the eight bells at St Margaret's Church, Buxted, East Sussex, have been in working order this year. Three are in urgent need of repair.

They are all being removed on 7 January and taken away by Whites of Appleton, a 180-year-old Oxfordshire company.

The bells will be fully restored with new headstocks and clappers, as well as being retuned.

'Maintain and preserve'

They will go to Whites' workshops in Appleton, then onto Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, before returning to Oxfordshire for final fittings to be completed.

The church said it expected to have all its bells back in full working order by early April.

The Reverend John Challis said: "The bells are a central feature of church life at St Margaret's and it is our duty to maintain and preserve them for future generations."

And church treasurer Homer Cox added: "This project will give us a ring of eight fully-restored and retuned bells, which should last for the next 100 years."

The church, situated in Buxted Park, was built in 1250.