Hindringham Church Friends aim to save the bells

A Friends group has launched with the primary aim of raising funds to restore bell ringing to St Martin’s parish church in Hindringham.

St Martin’s is a grade 1 listed church on the Heritage At Risk register and currently has five bells which are in a very sad state of repair with cracks and even a chunk missing from one of them. The aim is to introduce 6 new, lighter bells, and to hear them ringing out from Hindringham again for the first time in over 100 years.
 
The tower itself is very tall and fairly narrow and can be seen from many miles away. It is in the centre of the village and illuminated at night. There are significant cracks at each corner of the tower and the stairs are so dangerous that the clock, donated by the village for Queen Victoria’s jubilee in 1897 can no longer be serviced as it is too risky to ascend. Although the PCC is responsible for the maintenance of the church building, the Friends wanted to set up a totally independent group and have a project for the village.
 
PCC Member Helen McKenzie explains, “On setting up the group we researched articles in PCC News and knew that there was much help available. We spoke to local Friends groups, particularly Philip Morter from Brisley, and learned from their successes and guidance. The most important bit of advice was, don’t rush things, get all the systems in place first – and most wisely, get a bank account in time for the launch. We then advertised a public AGM and appointed a few key people, amongst them our chair, Serena Jamieson.
 
“The launch evening, pictured above, was a tremendous success with over 60 people enjoying wine and canapés and hearing about our ambition. Most people signed up to be a Friend on the night and we are approaching 1% of our target funds already. Future plans include sending out regular newsletters, setting up a website and organising an autumn fundraising event. The aim is to hold social events and have fun along the way.”
 
A video by Chris Richmond showing the current state of the tower and bells can be viewed here.
 
If you would like to become a Friend of Hindringham Church for £10 per household per year and follow their progress; or make a donation, please e-mail friendsofhindringhamchurch@gmail.com .
 
For more information about setting up a Friends group for your church, visit the Diocese of Norwich website, where this story was first published.
  
The image and video are courtesy of Friends of Hindringham Church.
 

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