Oh come you home of Sunday, when Ludlow streets are still. And Ludlow bells are calling, To farm and lane and mill.
Thus wrote A.E. Housman in A Shropshire Lad. Sadly the bells of St Laurence’s Ludlow have fallen silent – but only for a short time.
Churchwarden Dr Ewart Carson told the Journal that during bells practice on Monday, August 2, the weld failed on the crown staple in the fifth bell.
“This caused the clapper to fall, chipping the bell and bending the clapper itself. So until the necessary repairs have been carried out and all the other bells have been checked, we shall not be able to hear the bells of St Laurence’s ring out so beautifully on Sundays and on other special occasions.”
“However, the carillon is unaffected so the time and the tune of the day will continue to be heard in and around Ludlow.”
“The carillon is activated by separate little hammers that strike the bells without their having to move – unlike normal ringing in which case the bells are swung,” explained Dr Carson.
So we can play any tunes that the computer attached to the carillon has stored on it – which include the distinctive tune for each day of the week.”
This can be heard at 8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm.