THE bells won’t be ringing out on Christmas Day in Hartford this year.

Anyone passing through Hartford will have noticed that the scaffolding is still in place on the tower of St John's Church.

The urgent repairs to the roof are nearly finished. The work should be completed before Christmas, and the scaffolding removed.

The re-pointing of the tower uses a traditional lime-mortar, which takes months to fully dry and cure.

The architect and the contractors have advised that bell-ringing should not take place during this time, due to the perceived risk of any vibration dislodging the mortar.

Consequently, there will be no bell ringing for church services, weddings, funerals, practices, or any other occasions until the summer of 2018.

The Guild striking competition next spring will now have to be hosted in another tower. This also means that the church clock will not strike the hour during this period.

Rev Mike Smith, Vicar of Hartford, said: “The happy purpose of church bells is to call people to worship the Lord.

“Since ours will be silent for a little longer, let me stand in for them by inviting you to join us at our Christmas services and into the New Year.

“We are so thankful to the Lord for giving us both a generous congregation and skilful workers to enable the tower repairs.

“We look forward to our enthusiastic bell ringers once again calling our whole community to know the love and truth of God in Jesus Christ.”

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