CHURCHES are turning to computerised chimes in a move that threatens the end of traditional bell-ringing.
St Sampson’s in South Hill, Cornwall, is the latest to abandon the traditional rope and clappers to ring peels for services, weddings and funerals.
Its 17th-century bells were deemed to be too delicate to be struck by hand so they have been locked in position and fitted with electro- magnetic hammers — controlled from a small, wall-mounted touchscreen programmed with a series of peels.
It has brought the bells back into use after decades but is part of a trend worrying campanologists.
Fergus Stracey, treasurer of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, said: “We understand what happened at St Sampson’s, which was the best outcome for various reasons.
“But we wouldn’t want to see that happening more widely. Bells are part of the soundscape of the UK.”
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St Sampson’s follows Salford Cathedral, St Mary’s in Prestwich — which features regularly in Coronation Street — and the parish church of Stoke Gifford, Gloucs, in the switch to digital.
It cost St Sampson’s £30,000, against £200,000 for a full bell restoration.
Churchwarden Judith Ayres said: “It was very special to hear them again for the first time in 50 years.”
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