For centuries, the peal of a church's bells rang their symbolic messages across a city. But over the years, the bells deteriorated and, in the 1960s, this part of the city's life came to an end. Now, after restoration, the ages-old traditon returns.Gavin Engelbrecht reports.

HISTORIC church bells which rang out at the heart of an ancient city for hundreds of years have been brought back to life after more than three decades of silence.

The congregation of the small parish church in the shadow of Durham Cathedral marked the hanging of the renewed bells at a ceremony this week.

The damaged bells of St Mary-the-Less, the College Chapel of St John's College in the Bailey, in central Durham, were removed from the church's bell cote in the 1960s.

Funding has allowed them to be reinstated as the oldest working bells in the Bailey.

College principal the Right Reverend Professor Stephen Sykes said: "It is wonderful to be able to restore something which was part of the character in this area of Durham long before the college came into existence.

"We are connecting with a deeper past in a very real way and securing the heritage we have entered into."

The oldest and largest of the two bells dates from 1450 to 1500 and was probably cast in the grounds of the church itself.

Ordinand Chris Stuart, who co-ordinated the £8,000 restorations, said: "What makes the medieval bell unusual is the badly-phrased Latin it carries.

"Instead of the inscription on the bell reading Sancti Petra Ora Pro Nobis, it is inscribed wrongly Sancte Petra Ora Pro Nobes.

"We think that the man who cast it was probably illiterate.

"The phrase had probably been supplied by a monk at the cathedral - and they obviously weren't very good with their Latin."

The second bell was cast in 1694, by Christopher Hodson, at the same time as he cast a set of bells for the cathedral, several of which still survive.

In the early 1980s, archaeologists, excavating in the stonemasons' yard in the cathedral grounds, found the pit where the bell was cast.

Mr Stuart said: "These bells have been part of Durham city life for hundreds of years.

"The oldest bell would have rung in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I.

"And both together would have rung out to mark many subsequent coronations, royal weddings and major victories, such as the Battle of Trafalgar, the ending of the Boer War and the two world wars.

"They would also have pealed for the passing of local dignitaries.

"Until as late as the 19th Century, pealing bells were believed to ward off evil spirits just after death."

Mr Stuart said the re-hanging of the bells was the "icing on the cake" following restoration of the church, which was completed three years ago.

The church serves St John's College, which was founded in 1909 as an independent Church of England foundation and constituent college of the University of Durham. It is unique in England in combining a recognised theological college training 100 men and women for full-time Christian ministry, alongside 350 students studying for the whole range of university degrees.

Although a recognised university college, St John's College is financially independent of the wider university and is financed purely from student fees, a small conference trade, and what charitable donations it can attract.

The church, St Mary-the-Less - a grade I-listed building - was originally the parish church of one of the smallest parishes in England, founded in 1140 by one of the Bulmers, lords of Brancepeth.

The first known rector was Richard, in 1300, followed by Adam de Tanfield, in 1354.

The church was built originally as a place of worship for retainers and fighting men who came to man the city walls, and served an area of just four acres at the southern end of the peninsula - the ancient heart of the city.

In 1847, the church was restored to the original Norman plan under the direction of Rector James Raine, reusing some of the old stone.

In 1901, the population of the parish was 133. In 1912, an Order in Council made provision for the union of the neighbouring parish of St Mary-le-Bow with that of St Mary-the-Less at the next vacancy of either, and, in 1918, the benefices were united.

St Mary-le-Bow was constituted the parish church of the united parish, and St John's College was granted the use of St Mary-the-Less for 50 years as a college chapel. In 1927, this grant was extended indefinitely.

Artistic items of note in the church include a striking reredos - ornamental screen - of black oak. The chancel contains woodwork by Cosin, while the most interest has been aroused by a 12th Century sculpture in Hartlepool stone of Christ in Judgement, seated in a mandorla and surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists.

The mandorla is an ancient symbol of two circles, overlapping each other to form an almond shape in the middle. In medieval times, the almondwas interpreted as a symbol of a human embryo.

A monument to a renowned Durham character, Count Borowlaski, a Polish dwarf who died in 1837, can be found in the west wall.

There is also a tapered coffin lid of a 14th Century type with an unusually elaborate foliated cross head; it has an incised sword to the left of the shaft implying a military burial.

Members of prominent local families are buried in the graveyard, including the Bowes-Lyon family, some of whom are distant relatives of the late Queen Mother.

The chapel also contains a magnificent organ, built for the college by the Durham firm Harrison and Harrison, in 1963 and moved to its present site in 1975.

The college supports an organ scholar each year.

St Mary-the-Less serves the whole college community, including ordinands, undergraduates and staff. In term time, the chapel is in regular use, at least three times each weekday, and there is evening prayer in a variety of forms. The University CathSoc uses the chapel once each term to celebrate Mass and, from time to time, other denominations use the chapel.

The bells will be rung at 8am for morning song. But out of consideration for slumbering students, they will only be pealed three times a term in the morning, while evensong will see them rung more vigorously.

For all the tradition, there is one concession to modernity. Instead of being pulled on ropes, the bells have been hung for stationary chiming, using electro-magnetic clappers. This will make no difference to the beauty of tone they have become known for.

The restoration was carried out by Pembleton's bell-hangers and engineers, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

Hundreds of years ago, bell- casting was an inexact science. But Pembleton's experts were surprised at just how good they were when they carried out tonal analysis using modern computer techniques.