26 February 2009
Bells ring out once again at the gateway to the City of
London
A service will be held at St. Magnus the Martyr Church in the
City of London next week (Tuesday 3 March) to celebrate the
consecration of the first new bells in 65 years.
The installation of the new bells and a new bell frame follows a
fundraising appeal with the church and the City’s leading society
of bell ringers, the Ancient Society of College Youths. The appeal
raised a total of £300,000, which included a £35,000 donation from
the City of London Corporation.
The original ring of bells and the church were destroyed in the
Great Fire of London in 1666, which started in Pudding Lane a few
yards away. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt the church in 1676 and
added a tower and spire in 1704. Bells were installed in 1714 and
were rung regularly from that time until World War II. The bells
were removed from the tower in 1940 for safety, but were damaged
and eventually scrapped, leaving the tower empty for 65 years.
The new ring of bells will be laid out along the aisle in the
church during the service, which will be attended by several City
dignitaries, including the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Ian
Luder, and the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Richard John Carew
Chartres. The bells will be hung after the service, in preparation
for their first ringing on Easter Day.
Dickon Love, Appeal Secretary at St Magnus the Martyr Church,
who led the project through to completion, says: “We are delighted
that, for the first time since the 1940s, these bells will sing out
across the Thames to encourage churchgoers and visitors into the
building. Everyone who has contributed to our appeal, in
particular, the City of London Corporation, has helped us reinstate
a long-lost part of the City’s heritage and left a valuable legacy
for many generations to come.”
The church, which is the only one in England dedicated to this
Norwegian saint, has been dubbed ‘The Gateway to the City of
London’, because of its position at the busy junction of London
Bridge and Lower Thames Street.
Ends
Notes for editors
The City of London Corporation, which provides local government
services for the ‘Square Mile’, the financial and commercial heart
of Britain, works nationally and internationally to maintain and
enhance the City as a world-leading international financial and
business centre. Its other special responsibilities and
services to London and the wider UK include the Barbican Centre,
the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, 10,000 acres of open
space including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest, three wholesale
food markets, two inner-London City Academies, the City Bridge
Trust and acting as London’s Port Health Authority. The Lord Mayor
of the City of London (currently Ian Luder) works extensively at
home and abroad to promote the City.
Press contact
Dickon Love, Tower Keeper, St Magnus the Martyr Church,
telephone 07983 352279, email
dickon@ascy.org.uk
Andrew Buckingham, Press Officer, City of London Corporation,
telephone 020 7332 1452, email
andrew.buckingham@cityoflondon.gov.uk