Snowdonia church rings again after 150 years thanks to national ap-peal

In one of North Wales’s busiest Snowdonia tourist villages, church bells will ring for the first time in more than 150 years this Easter after a long-delayed restoration is finally completed

Church bells will be rung during an Easter service for the first time in more than 150 years, after a project to complete a church’s original design was finally finished.

The tower at St Mary’s Church in Betws-y-Coed, in Snowdonia, was constructed in the 19th century with plans for a full ring of bells, but that work was never completed.

More than a century later, the tower now holds a complete set.

Eight of the bells were transferred from another church that closed in 2024, linking the two communities through the project.

The remaining bell, originally cast for the church in 1873, has now been restored and rehung as the clock and chiming bell.

The bells will be rung ahead of a family Eucharist on Easter Day, marking the first time the full ring has been used during a service as originally intended.

The project began in 2019 after local bell ringers realised there was no tower in the area where they could practise.

A small group of volunteers went on to lead the work, taking on roles including tower captain and overseeing fundraising and installation.

The bells brought from the closed church date from 1900 and 1902. They were retuned and prepared before being installed.

Work on the tower included fitting new headstocks, designing a new frame and replacing the clock mechanism so it can chime the hour.

The project cost around £100,000 and was funded mainly through grants, alongside local donations.

During the work, newspapers from 1874 were found in the tower, including a copy of the Caernarvon and Denbigh Herald.

The bells have been dedicated to eight local people, with several expected to attend the Easter service.

The Revd Stuart Elliott said: “It was a wonderful and emotional moment to hear the bells during a test ring. It will be extraordinary to hear them rung for the first time at a church service on Easter Sunday, so that the whole community can hear the invitation they proclaim. It is quite a transformation for the village”.

After the service, a Quarter Peal lasting about 45 minutes will be rung, using a set sequence known as Plain Bob Triples.

The church is about 12 miles from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Snowdonia National Park, a village widely regarded as one of North Wales’s best-known tourist centres, drawing visitors year-round for its scenery, walking routes and position at the gateway to the mountains.

READ MORE: ‘Scotland’s oldest heritage charity launches £1.5m appeal to buy permanent Edinburgh home‘. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is seeking £1.5 million to buy a building in Edinburgh’s historic centre before a January deadline, in a move it says would give the country its first national heritage hub ahead of the charity’s 250th anniversary. 

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_{Main image: St Mary’s Church in Betws-y-Coed, built in 1873, where bells will be rung during a service for the first time in more than 150 years following a restoration project. Credit: Eirian Evans / CC BY-SA 2.0}