After being silent for over 150 years, a church bell from Somerset is now ringing once again – but this time in an Australian wedding chapel.
The bell, believed to be from around 1550, used to call worshippers to Upton village church and is now considered the oldest ringing church bell in Australia.
Cherie Reid, who constructed the wedding chapel at Kantara House in Green Point, New South Wales, shared that she rescued the bell from disrepair and relocated it 9,500 miles away from its original location.
“It has been such a wonderful journey to acquire this bell. I feel a sense of pride about the final outcome,” Ms. Reid expressed.
Ms. Reid, along with her daughter Karina, is responsible for ringing the bell at the conclusion of wedding ceremonies.
The original 14th Century church of St. James in Exmoor National Park was replaced in 1870 without a bell tower, leaving its ancient bells silent until they were sold – one to Australia and one to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.
Ms. Reid mentioned the challenges she faced in finding a bell of such quality in Australia, stating, “Most bells here are for schools and none compare to the one I sourced from the UK.”
After acquiring the bell from Somerset, she had to travel to the UK to retrieve it and later had it refurbished in Cork, Ireland.
Once the bell arrived in Australia in 2016, the family had to use a crane to lift it into the tower, a task that required removing the roof and then putting it back on.
Karina Reid described the experience of hearing the bell ring as “incredible,” emphasizing the importance of having a piece of England’s history in their chapel.
“We are proud to have a part of England’s heritage resonating in our chapel,” Ms. Reid concluded.