A PROJECT to refurbish the bells at one of Taunton’s iconic churches is nearing completion.

St Mary Magdalene Church, on Church Square, is renovating its 90-year-old bells in a £310,000 project.

Today, Friday, December 9, crowds gathered outside the church to watch the huge steel structures delivered before they are installed, after they were re-cast in Loughborough.

The 15 bells will be blessed in a special service held by the vicar, the Rev Rod Corke, on Sunday, December 11.

Somerset County Gazette:

It is hoped the bells will be installed an in place to ring out over Christmas.

It has been a mammoth project for the church.

The work involved taking out hundreds of bolts that have been in place for more than 90 years and using heavy lifting gear as the bells weigh up to 29cwt, before they were transported John Taylor and Co's foundry in Loughborough to be recast.

As part of the project’s funding, Newsquest, the publisher of your County Gazette, pledged £5,000 as part of the Gannett Foundation grant scheme.

Somerset County Gazette: