HISTORIC church bells will ring out a peal for a final time this weekend in tribute to all those who have kept the sound alive through five centuries.

The swansong comes before the much-loved bells at St Mary’s Church in Richmond are replaced and put on display.

To mark the occasion and to celebrate the bells’ history, the church’s ringers will attempt to achieve a special performance of 5040 changes on Saturday which takes about three hours to ring.

All are welcome to attend as the ringers celebrate with tea and cake at around 3pm before ringing a full peal on the six oldest bells which range in age from 140 years to over 500.

Liz Foster who leads a local history group researching the history of bells and bellringing at Richmond, explained: “This is a tribute to the past and present people of Richmond and the ringers who have kept these bells ringing over the last 500-years.

“We think it’s a fitting tribute to the people of Richmond who have heard and loved the sound of these bells over the centuries, and the bellfounders who cast our bells over a period of time from 1500 to 1904.

“We are replacing them with a brand new set of bells over the next few months so this is the last day on which we can sound them for any length of time, although we shall ring for services on the next two Sundays.”

A film and sound crew will be filming and recording the old bells for posterity as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project to retain the five oldest bells.

These will be hung in a permanent exhibition designed to record the processes of bellfounding and bellringing.

In the summer the HLF funding is supporting workshops in Richmond schools examining the science and art of bellringing in a creative way.

Professionals in sound, scenic arts, movement and writing will help pupils to explore bellringing in novel ways that relate to their lives today.

Andrew Slade, one of the ringers who is liaising with the bellfoundry, explained that the eight new bells will secure ringing at Richmond for the future.

They have been specially designed to hang on one level in the tower making them much easier to ring and safeguarding the structure of the 14th century tower.

He said: “We have already heard them so we know that they are a very sweet and pleasant sound and much better instruments than our old ones.

“But we shall miss the sound of the old bells and that’s one reason why we are recording them and having a day of ringing for the community.”