Freemasons ring in the New Year with £8,000 donation for Alnwick church bells project

Northumberland Freemasons have donated £8,000 to help restore the sound of church bells to an Alnwick church.
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St Michael’s Church does not currently have a ring of bells, and the Vicar, Rev Canon Paul Scott, is leading a campaign to get 10 bells ringing across the town again.

One of the 10 bells will bear the inscription ‘Ring out for Alnwick’ and local organisations and individual townspeople have been invited to make a contribution towards the cost of the bells.

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With a lodge building in Alnwick, Northumberland Freemasons decided to help.

Rev Canon Scott and Dr Greg Smith of Northumberland Freemasons at St Michael's Church, Alnwick. Picture: Highlights PRRev Canon Scott and Dr Greg Smith of Northumberland Freemasons at St Michael's Church, Alnwick. Picture: Highlights PR
Rev Canon Scott and Dr Greg Smith of Northumberland Freemasons at St Michael's Church, Alnwick. Picture: Highlights PR

“We are delighted that Northumberland Freemasons have donated £8,000 which will pay for one of the bells,” said Rev Canon Scott.

"We are so looking forward to hearing the bells ring out across the town.”

The £300,000 Tower Project at St Michael’s Church was launched two years ago and now has all the necessary permissions to proceed.

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The main part of the project is the installation of a ring of ten bells; six of them refurbished having previously been in the tower of St James’ Church, Newton Hall, near Corbridge, alongside an additional four which will be specially cast for St Michael’s.

The church has never possessed a full peal of bells. The tower currently houses three bells: two of them medieval and unringable and one from the 18th century which, while still in use, is quite severely damaged.

The only other ring of ten bells in Northumberland is at Hexham Abbey.

The project also includes a new roof for the ancient tower which was last replaced in 1746 and the preservation and display of interesting graffiti – some of which is considered to be quite rare and of national importance.

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The £8,000 from Northumberland Freemasons is the latest in a series of donations given in 2020 totalling more than £160,000.

Dr Greg Smith, representing Northumberland Freemasons, explained: “The Provincial Grand Lodge of Northumberland through the Richard Henry Holmes Masonic Benevolent Fund donates around £80,000 twice each year to local charities and good causes to boost worthwhile and deserving projects throughout Northumberland, Newcastle

and North Tyneside.

“The St Michael’s Church Tower project is a fantastic community project that will bring living history into Alnwick. Our donation will be an investment in the town’s heritage for centuries to come.”

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