Help get Pembroke’s bells back up the Norman tower of St Mary’s Church, so they can ring out for your special occasions!

All eight bells in the tower in the Pembroke church have had to be removed, to stop them falling through the floors. Rust had taken its toll and the beams supporting the bell frame had parted company with the tower walls! With the total weight of bells being 2,227kg or 2.6 tons, the situation could not be left any longer. 

Rusted bell support beam at St Mary’s Church, Pembroke
Rusted support beam. Photo: Anne Bunker (Anne Bunker)

Emergency work in April to take the bells out of the tower was carried out by volunteers under the supervision of Bell Hanger Peter Hayward, saving the church about £10,000. 

Bell hanger Peter Hayward guides the tenor bell down the tower.
Bell hanger Peter Hayward guides the tenor bell down the tower. Photo: Anne Bunker (Anne Bunker)

Full restoration of the bells was due to start before April but delays in receiving a promised grant has prevented the restoration starting. The project would no longer be eligible for funding if it were started before the grant was in place. 

Volunteers enjoy a well-earned tea and cake break.
Volunteers enjoy a well-earned tea and cake break. Photo: Anne Bunker (Anne Bunker)

St Mary’s Bell Ringers Tower Captain Anne Bunker has written to residents of the Pembroke, reasoning that the bells are part of the soundscape of the town and an important part of its history and heritage.

Anne writes: “We would like to get the bells ringing again as soon as possible, before the ringing skills are lost and so our town can again have bells to mark its special moments.

“If you miss hearing the bells and feel you can support us with a small but regular donation of say a pound a month, you will be helping to get the job done and to secure the bells for hundreds of years to come.”

Talking to the Tenby Observer, she added: “Local people flocked to St Mary’s to say goodbye to the bells, demonstrating the huge community support for the bells.  The two bells cast in 1765 had not seen the light of day for nearly 260 years. 

All eight bells lined up on the church path
All eight bells lined up on the church path. Photo: Anne Bunker (Anne Bunker)

“Canon Roger Jones said that people in the past had invested in our future by installing the bells, and now it is our turn to invest in the future of others.  

“To secure the rest of the funding needed while we wait for the grant, we have launched a new campaign to ask local people to donate a small but regular amount to help us get the bells ringing again. If you would like your name in our donations book, please help us. Just a pound a month will make a positive difference.” 

Approximately £16,000 of the £200,000 project is still needed and, once restored, the bells will need maintaining to keep them in good ringing order. Forty people each paying £1 a month would pay for an annual visit by a specialist bell firm. A generous bequest could fund a new bell in someone’s memory, with their name on.

You can donate to the St Mary’s Pembroke Bell Restoration Project Fund by bank transfer: Sort code 30-16-20, Account number 07358466. Gift Aid can be claimed on donations, as the Project Fund is a registered charity.

St Mary’s Church Pembroke, with its Norman tower.
St Mary’s Church Pembroke, with its Norman tower. Anne thanks St Florencius, St Florence for allowing the Pembroke ringers to keep up their skills by holding a practice there on the first Tuesday of each month, and St Mary’s Tenby for allowing them to join Tenby’s regular bellringing practice on the other Tuesday evenings. Photo: Anne Bunker (Anne Bunker)