Life is less ropey for Sawley bellringers

The 'peal' deal - Sawley church’s bells – and clock mechanism (Credit: EBC)

Bell-ringers struggling with ropes that are more than 30 years old are to get new ones – thanks to an Erewash Borough Council grant of almost £3,500 that is also helping to get a heater installed in their chilly church tower.

The replacement cords at All Saints in Sawley – complete with grips that are called “sallies” – are being commissioned from a specialist local maker. The church will get eight – one for of each of its historic bells The oldest is a tenor that was cast in 1591.

Overjoyed ringer Matt Micklewright told how the bell ropes were last replaced towards the end of the last century. He said: “We’ve definitely got our money’s worth from the old ones as they’re covered in splices and areas we’ve repaired over the years.”

The new ropes are part of a programme of refurbishments to the 15th century church tower, which has an old oak floor in its ringing room that requires fresh carpet.

Matt said: “Electrical work is also planned, including an electric heater as it gets very cold up in the tower in the winter.”

The council contribution to the improvements is via one of its community grants – which use money from the authority’s £6.5million Erewash Investment Fund. The sum that the bellringers applied for – £3,484 – needed to be supported by a councillor since it was one of the larger amounts.

These are known as a Member Grants. Ex Mayor Cllr Harry Atkinson, who represents Sawley, backed the bid. He said: “I was only too happy to do so. You might describe it as the very definition of a sound investment.”

Erewash’s Deputy Leader Cllr Becca Everett, who is Lead Member for Community Engagement, said: “This is the kind of financial support that has been going out to all kinds of community organisations and volunteer groups thanks to our Erewash Investment Fund.”

Matt is one of more than a dozen dedicated bellringers who hold regular practice sessions at All Saints Church on Tuesday evenings. He said: “We also ring before the Sunday morning service – as well as at weddings, funerals or for special services like at Christmas and Easter.”

The church’s oldest bell was made by renowned local foundry maestro Henry Oldfield in 1591. The five newest date back more than a century and were manufactured in Loughborough by Taylors Foundry – the last such maker still existing in the UK.

Loughborough is where the new bell ropes are coming from. The manufacturer has a waiting list but Matt reckons the church – which has just had its Victorian clock serviced by Smiths of Derby – should get them before Christmas.

He said of the refurbishment project: “We’re actually hosting a meeting for all the ringers in Southern Derbyshire in January so it’d definitely be nice to have everything in place by then. We’re hugely grateful for the grant.”

All Saints is a Grade One listed building with parts of it dating back to the 11th Century. Its belfry revamp will see a camera installed to look down on the bells.

Matt said: “They spin around almost 360° when we ring them, which can be hard to visualise. The idea of the camera is to allow learners or visitors to see what this looks like without being in the belfry, as that can be very dangerous.”