Church bells

I was passing near Saltaire's United Reformed Church on Saturday, when I heard the bells ringing.  That's a sound that was not heard in the village for a long time.  The church's original bells, installed in 1870, were removed in about 1939 to make munitions during the Second World War.  In 2003, to celebrate the bi-centenary of Sir Titus Salt's birth, a new peal of bells was donated by Mrs Maggie Silver.  The church is one of only four non-conformist churches in England to have a ring of bells.

Despite the new bells and the church's beauty, I haven't noticed many weddings here (I believe about 25 a year) so I was pleased to see that the bell-ringing was celebrating a wedding.  It wasn't a great day for a photo - rather dull and dark - and you can't see the bride and groom, who were well-hidden amongst the crowd.  But I just caught this shot as the wedding party let loose a stream of balloons.  I'm not aware that is a traditional English wedding custom, but things change all the time!

You can get an idea of the scale of the building when you see people on the steps.  It is only a week or so since they removed the scaffolding and sheeting that has been covering the front of the church all summer.  The cupola (porch) canopy timbers and beams have been restored.  The next scheduled phase of restoration involves work to the Salt family mausoleum.


Once again, a million thanks to all who have voted for my photos in the 'Yorkshire Landscapes' competition.   And if you haven't... there's still time!  (See my Saturday post for more info.)