The heaviest set of four church bells in the world have been removed from their Eden home.
Work has begun on the long awaited restoration of the unique tower bells at St Michael’s Church, Brough.
The first part of the operation was getting the bells out of the tower — no easy task, since they weighed in at 405.5kg in the case of the treble bell, tuned to A; 440.9kg for the second bell, tuned to G; 734.4kg for the third bell, tuned to F; and 895.4kg for the tenor bell, tuned to E.
It is believed the tenor bell was cast on the site of the church when the tower was built in 1513 and may never have left it until now, as it was larger than the doorway, measuring more than 118cm in diameter, making its removal especially tricky.
Bell committee member Julie Sandilands said: “After some careful manoeuvring it finally emerged ready to be lifted on to a waiting truck.
“The task of removing the bells was carried out by Matthew Higby, from Somerset, and his team of bell engineers.
“This was done over a three-day period and the bells have now been taken to Matthew’s bell foundry — where they will be restored and lightly tuned to create a pitch perfect ring.”
At the same time the bell tower will undergo structural work including the insertion of a steel frame to strengthen the timber floor. All the work is being carried out thanks to a successful National Lottery bid.
