Bell silenced as church re-fit runs into trouble

Fire destroyed the library in the north-west corner of St Barnabas Church, Sea Road, in November 2005. Flames spread quickly to the roof, and much of the wooden flooring was damaged as fire crews struggled with the blaze.

A campaign lead by the Cantelupe Community Association and the Victorian Society saved the listed bulding from demolition last August, and restoration work began this May.

Now, discovery of the unsafe bell cote (right) has thrown the plans off track and added extra expense to the project.

Church warden Steve Martin said: "The bell is a long way up and the salt air has caused a lot of corrosion to the metalwork.

"It's supported by various pieces of metal, but all of them are very badly corroded by our seaside air.

"It was last inspected in 1930, and it shows."

The single bell housed by the cote can still ring, but with difficulty.

Making the bell safe is one of the final steps in the first phase of restoration.

Once the scaffolding around the tower is dismantled, workmen can finish sealing the restored oak floor, which became damaged after firemen flooded the church with six inches of water.

The roof over the north aisle has been replaced, as well as fire-damaged timbers and stonework elsewhere in the church. A new lighting circuit replaces damaged wiring.

Steve said: "After all this expense, we need to know how much money is left before deciding on the next phase.

"It's diificult to tell how it will look, because of the scaffolding and screens. But I have high hopes. The floor will be beautiful."

Insurance pays for most of the works, but fundraising by the Friends of St Barnabas is crucial.

Chair of the group, Jenny Edgar, has helped organise concerts, fetes, and even a political hustings in the building since it was saved last year.

She said: "It's an important town centre building, and this has been a phenomenal undertaking so far, with a lot of hard work gone into it.

"We have to clean the stone dust off the chairs for each service because of the sandblasting cleaning that goes on!"

Roy Cox captains Bexhill's only full-peal bellringing team, based at St Peter's Church, which has a set of 10 bells.

He agreed sea air was a menace to the metal fixtures of bell cotes.

"It's more the fittings than the bell itself, which is made of an alloy of copper and tin," said Roy. "In time they inevitably seize up, especially if exposed to our air."

The bell cote surrounded by scaffolding this week

Ben Higgins

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