A race against time is underway to get the bells at one of Nottingham's most historic churches ringing again in time for the King's Coronation. St Mary's Church lies on a site in the Lace Market where a church is believed to have been based in Saxon times.
The oldest bell of the current set dates back to 1595, but all 12 of them have been mostly silent since last May due to a structural issue with part of the church. The south gable end wall needs to be restored and strengthened, with the work estimated to cost £200,000.
The church has already raised around half of this money and is now hoping to raise the rest in time for May 6. Reverend Tom Gillum, the Vicar of St Mary's, said: "It's obviously going to be very tight getting the work to the gable wall finished for the coronation.
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"But we're all hoping and praying that if we at least get the scaffolding up, it could be declared safe to ring the bells in time for the coronation. St Mary's is the oldest church in Nottingham and the bells have rung for the last 600 years, so it would be very sad if they were not ringing for the coronation."
The bells at St Mary's first fell silent last May, when bell ringers noticed signs of movement next to the tower which houses its bells. The only time any ringing has taken place since then is when just one of them was tolled to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September.
Of the several fundraising efforts underway, a fundraising day will be held at the church on April 16 between 2.30pm and 4.30pm. It is being organised by Janine Tanner of the Notts History - Honour Our Heritage Group, which already runs pre-booked tower tours at St Mary's.
Activities including balloon modelling and entertainment including local bands are expected to feature at the April 16 fundraiser, which hopes to raise as much money as possible to contribute to the St Mary's work. Janine Tanner said: "Where St Mary's is, you can see it all over Nottingham.
"Especially in the Broad Marsh area, you can hear the bells ringing out across the city because it's sort of on a hill. They need to have the bells ringing again."
Emma Jones, the captain of the bell ringers at St Mary's, added: "To have a coronation is unusual itself, but we haven't had a coronation for a king since George VI in 1937. St Mary's is such a historic site, so we need to get the bells ringing for such a historic occasion."
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