A SUCCESSFUL project to replace historic bells at a Richmond church was celebrated this week with a dedication ceremony by the Bishop of Ripon.

Bishop James Bell blessed the eight new bells at St Mary’s Church in a service which heralded the success of a fundraising project to replace the old bells which ranged in age from 140 years to over 500-years-old.

Thanks to a combination of Heritage Lottery funding, individual donations and collective fundraising, more than £170,000 was put towards the project to buy new bells for St Mary’s.

However it will still be some time yet before the new bells are ringing out a peal across Richmond - as it is expected to take around six weeks to install them.