A HISTORIC set of handbells from Arlecdon which lay unused and in poor condition has been restored.

The bells, from St Michael’s Church, were restored by the Carlisle Diocesan Guild of Bellringers. The collection, which dates from around 1900, has not been used for years and has been stored in damp conditions.

Local bell ringer Chris de Cordova said they were in a dreadful state. She said: “All were dull and tarnished and all leather fittings were damp and soft, making them impossible to ring properly.

“All needed all new fittings – straps, caps, felts, washers, pins, clapper pegs and three needed new clapper springs. Three were cracked, and three bells of the set were actually missing altogether. Key notes were missing for both ringing tunes and ringing changes. In short, in that state, they were unusable!”

The Arlecdon parochial church council, faced with possible closure of St Michael’s Church, decided to entrust them to the guild and after fundraising, they were sent away for repairs which, together with replacing some missing bells, has cost around £2,000.

The guild is immensely grateful to Dobies, the Cumberland Building Society, Edgars and Sellafield Sites, for their financial help towards the cost of this work, which was done by Alan Collings of Handbell Recovery in Sussex.

The set is believed to to have been made between 1891 and 1932. To buy a new set now would cost many thousands of pounds. The trustees would now like to find and train, if necessary, a group who would like to use these bells and look after them.

There is no requirement to be able to read music although some basic skills will be gained whilst learning to play music on them. They are not heavy and each person will generally manage two bells, one in each hand. For more information, call 016973 21170.