Prior to 2022 the ring of eight bells was neglected and infrequently rung, the clock and chimes had stopped, the long-term ownership of the building was uncertain, and there was concern over falling masonry which was being blamed on tower sway when the bells were ringing.

With the strong support of a new manager, some volunteer work was done on one of the wheels to refix the shrouding, and a test ring was arranged with a structural engineer to check the structural viability of the tower. Fortunately, no problems were found and this helped finally to debunk the falling masonry myth.

By now, St Mary’s church had been leased by the diocese to The Hub (a first floor event space and coffee shop) who, in turn sublet the ground floor to Lichfield Library, providing a reliable source of income. The diocese still owns the building and retains the right to hold services in the sanctuary. Significant remodelling has made the whole building a vibrant space which is well-used by the public and has a secure future.

Plans were discussed with The Hub management team in October 2022 with the following aims:

1. Restore bells (frame was moving, rope falls and rough pulleys made bells hard work, fitting worn) and tower (netting had failed at the apex of the spire, new lighting, restore the steel structure so tower tours could resume) and clock.

2. Create training facility (simulator, training bells – ownership of these items to remain with LWASCR so can be removed if needed)

3. Integrate bells into tourist venue (run courses whilst tower is open, ringing demonstrations on key dates, PR material on display at all times when public can view)

In July 2023 an ART course was run to test the viability of the bells and venue for training. This attracted 11 students – 8 from LWASCR and 3 from Nottingham/Cheshire – and Paul Lewis ran the Module 1 Bell Handling course. We silenced bells 1, 2, 3 and 5 and found them perfectly fine for teaching bell-handling and raising/lowering. The conference facilities were ideal and tea/coffee and food was on hand from the café. Parking was relatively cheap and plentiful and all the feedback from students was positive.

A financial plan was developed and costed. The HS2 Community and Environment Fund was approached and in 2023 agreed to fund all the tower work and 50% of the bell work (their aims do not include supporting religious buildings but as this was a training project, they agreed to a 50% grant) - a total of £76,724.

To access HS2 we (LWASCR) had to grant £1300 to show buy-in. This will go towards display/simulator (which we will own) and clearing the ringing room (done by volunteers.) In July 2024, The Hub completed sourcing the remaining matched funding (£18,973) and the project is fully now funded.

Items 1, 2 (partly), 6 and 10 are already complete. The bell work is ready to be scheduled by Taylors. Further training sessions will be planned around this work and tower tours should restart in April/May 2025.