Bells may ring at Lynn again
A SOLUTION appears to have been found to solve problems with St Margaret's Church bells at Lynn, which have fallen silent for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
Proposals to put an end to the silence have been put forward to bellfounders Taylors, Eayre and Smith and they have been accepted by church authorities – but there is still a question mark over who should pay the 20,000 bill.
In July, the Lynn News reported that a row had broken out at the church, which dates back to 1101, because the bells – said to include one of the finest tenor bells in East Anglia – were no longer allowed to be sounded.
The ten bells were re-hung last year after previous tower captain and famous ringer Norman Harding left a 140,000 legacy for them to be restored.
However, ringers found last September that the bell frame appeared to be moving inappropriately and the tenor has not rung since.
The whole ring later fell silent after Tower Captain Terry Greenacre became worried and ordered ringing to cease.
The row has since broken out over who is to blame, amid allegations that the grout mixture used to fix the bell frame in place was changed from the bellfounders' specifications.
Taylors, Eayre and Smith have now offered to replace the grout with concrete, however, a spokesman told the Lynn News that it is very unlikely to be done before Christmas.
The dilemma has meant the bells were unable to be rung for the magnificent celebrations in the summer to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Lynn's most famous seafarer Captain George Vancouver, though the eight bells at St Nicholas' chapel did sound to mark the occasion.
They have also missed several weddings.
Mr Greenacre said it was a shame the bells would not be ringing for Christmas or New Year, and was concerned as to when they might ring again.
Church vicar, the Rev Chris Ivory, was unavailable for comment.
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Weather for Kings Lynn
Thursday 09 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 16 C to 21 C
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