THE BELLS

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The bells of St Matthew's, having fallen into disrepair many years ago, have been silent. A shame that any church should lose it's ability to signal its presence to the local community, but in the case of St Matthew's it is doubly so. You see unlike many church bells they are not rung by traditional bell ropes which swing the bell to strike the clapper, but rather via what is called the Ellacombe Chime System where bells hang stationary and a hammer beneath each bell rises and strikes when a rope below is pulled. While this system doesn’t generate as loud a ring as traditionally hung bells, it does have the major benefit of the peal being able to be rung by just two people or at a stretch just one!

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THE GOOD NEWS

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Thanks to the generosity and hard work of Henry Grice the bells have, as of Advent 2025, been brought back into a working state. They still requite further TLC to bring them back to perfect working order but at least now they are on the road to recovery.

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To hear their first ringing for we believe may be in excess of 50 years please click the link above. If you would like to make a donation to their further restoration please don't hesitate to get in contact via the form of the contact us page.

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