An ap-pealing new future for Impington church bells

For decades the three bells of St Andrew’s Church, Impington have been silent due to neglect, age and adverse weather, but thanks to a local team of expert volunteer bellhangers and ringing enthusiasts, the bells are set to peal out across our villages once again. Lucy Callington finds out more.

The tower at St Andrew’s Church, Impington contains two lighter bells, which are both of great historic interest since they date back to before the Reformation – c. 1460. It also has a heavier bell – the half ton tenor – which was recast using metal from the previous (presumably cracked) bell when a new steel frame was put in in 1925.

Unfortunately, over a century later, the tower, bells and their fittings had suffered neglect and wooden parts like one of the headstocks (which connects the bell to the wheel) have become rotten in the damp belfry. Even the tower itself was declared unsafe.

A complete overhaul

Fast forward to 2021 when the tower’s structural problems were solved with a full restoration and a balcony floor level was built into the tower. This unlocked the chance to fully restore the bells to full-circle ringing – which means allowing them to swing over 360 degrees in both directions standing with their mouths pointing heavenwards in the ‘up’ position.

It wasn’t an easy job – particularly with over half a ton of bronze balanced overhead. But the time was right to make an asset out of a silent liability, and thanks to the energetic volunteering efforts of bell ringers from St Andrew’s Histon, practical and administrative support from churchwardens, plus expert advice from Tom Ridgman (of the Ely Diocesan Association of Bellringers) a complete overhaul got underway.

Timeline of the work

• August 2024 – Faculty application made to Archdeacon for permission to replace the headstock.
• 30 January 2025 work begins to remove the rotten headstock led by Tom Ridgman with help from members of the Hunts Bell Restoration Society.
• The 2nd bell was parted from the headstock using a temporary frame brought into the belfry to support the bell (the roof wasn’t deemed strong enough to support pulleys) and it was then lowered onto wooden supports in the pit below the bell.
• The headstock and clapper were taken to Blyth & Co in Lincolnshire to allow the new headstock to be fabricated, using the original as a template.
• Blyth & Co started work on the headstock in April and found that 80% of the metal work needed replacing, one of the metal pivots was found to have a significant structural crack, and a replacement for these and all housings and bearings was required.
• Headstock and fixings were completed by September however; Blyth & Co were not happy with the finished oak headstock as the wood had not been fully seasoned.
• Sapele was suggested as an alternative wood, but suitable sized pieces weren’t available as timber mills don’t produce pieces of it greater than 10cm.
• Tom Ridgman’s proposal was to use around three beams of sapele glued together which should be more reliable in the long term and, if done correctly, the glued joints should be stronger than the wood itself.
• February 2026, the new replacement headstock was completed and returned to Impington.

Finishing the frame

The other portion of the bell restoration work was to repair and preserve the corroded bell frame and bell fixings that had also suffered from neglect since their installation in 1925.

Fittingly, a full century later, work was started in November 2025 to remove the loose rust and dirt from the bell frame with wire brushes. The work was led by Tom with help from ringers Andy, Will, Tom C, Des, Benedict and Dave and church members Mike and Kacper.

A coat of rust converter was applied to the frame and then most of the frame was painted with red oxide primer, with work being completed over the Christmas period.

The finishing touch was two coats of topcoat in St Andrew’s Saltire flag blue – applied once the weather was warm enough in early 2026.

Ringing in the new

The Hunts Bell Restoration Society managed to painstakingly fettle the headstock to accept the top of the bell and by May this year the second bell was united with its new headstock.

Work then continued to refit the ringing wheel and cut a new wooden stay, and the rope path into the church was modified with new pulleys and guide boxes in an intermediate floor, to avoid the new stairs added during the recent tower restoration.

Happily, the bell has been tested briefly and found to ring very well – marking the first time it has been possible to ring it in over 50 years.

The team is yet to set a date for the first official ringing but it’s likely to be in the Autumn, so listen out then and you may just hear the peal of the bells – lovingly restored for another century or two.

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