One of the tallest churches in the UK has a new claim to fame – with bells on.
Two new bells have been hoisted in to the The belfry at Trinity Church at Ossett, making it one of only three churches in England capable of ringing 14 bells at the same time.
A mystery benefactor funded the £42,000 project to install the two new bells in the tower at the Grade II listed church.
When he’s not responding to alarm bells at work, Morley firefighter David Pygott is ring master in the belfry at Trinity Church.
Mr Pygott, 46, who started bell ringing aged just four, said: “It’ll really put Ossett on the map.
“We have added the two new bells to create a lightweight set of 10 bells as we are struggling to get enough people to ring the heavy four bells. But this will also give us a complete ring of 14 which up until now has only been available at Winchester and Birmingham.”
And Mr Pygott is constantly on the look out for new bell ringers.
He said: “It’s a brilliant way to make music, keep you fit and stimulate your brain all at the same time.
“If you’re looking for a new hobby or have done bell ringing before, we’d love to hear from you. We’re a friendly bunch who really enjoy what we do and anyone who wants to give it a try is more than welcome.”
The work was carried out by Taylors of Loughborough, who cast the original eight bells for the Church in 1865. Eight became ten when the same bells were recast by their founders in 1934, with another two being added in 1988.
Vicar Paul Maybury said: “This is a great thing for Trinity Church to become part of an elite group of churches who can ring 14 bells.”
“We really want to encourage people to come and have a look at them and we’ve taken big steps in improving access to them. Hopefully this will draw people in, to discover all the treasures of the Church.”
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