Let the Bells Ring Out!
Our Church bells ring for the first time in 15 years!
Residents of Elderslie were able to hear church bells in the village for the first time in 15 years.
The bell tower at Elderslie and Linwood Parish Church, formerly Elderslie Kirk, has undergone a huge refurbishment, which has also included the church roof being replaced.
The work on the three-bell tower included two deep cleans, new strong wire mesh fitted, as well as the ‘control unit’ electrical being ‘circuit’ boards sent to Loughborough, Leicestershire, to be reset. John Taylor & Co originally fitted the bells in the 1960s and were able to overhaul and upgrade the 'control unit’ boards to ensure they are fit for purpose. These were then refitted by the electricians working on the project.
Scaffolding has been up around the church since the end of August, and it has taken around 13 weeks to complete. The roof, which is believed to be the second roof on the original building, has had all new slates fitted and a fifth of the wooden sarking and trusses had to be replaced. The contractor also had dealing with the autumn weather, including Storm Amy at the end of September, which delayed the work slightly.
David Bruce, Property Convener, at Elderslie and Linwood Parish Church, said: “We know the community has missed hearing the bells on a Sunday morning and it was great to see everyone’s reaction when they were turned on at the end of November. A huge amount of work has gone into replacing the church roof, and we are delighted that the bells could be fixed while the scaffolding was in place. The bell tower is normally completely inaccessible and needed extensive work to get the bells ringing again.
“Our thanks to our contactor, Gerry Devine Roofing & Roughcasting, for all their work – it’s a huge investment in futureproofing this beautiful building.”
The bells were manually played until the 1960s when the church switched to electrical bells. The church, which is located on the Main Road, was built in 1840 and is a C listed building.