THE church bells could be soon ringing out again at a Nevern church which has stood silent for more than 120 years.

A public meeting called to discuss the restoration of the bells and bell tower at the historic St Brynach church – home to the famous ‘bleeding yew’ – attracted around 50 people to the Trewern Arms in the village to hear of the restoration committee’s ambitious plans.

Restoration committee chairman Duncan Fitzwilliam told the meeting: “We are looking to raise £1/4m to put right the fabric of Nevern Church. We know that’s quite an ask but many of us have taken the church for granted for too long.

“Our ancestors did up the fabric of the church and we have taken advantage of that over the years and it is now out turn to do out bit to do something for a very special place.”

So far, £110,000 has been raised and Mr Fitzwilliam said the next target was to increase that to £125,000 at which point there would be the opportunity to apply for match-funding, along with further possible grants.

The committee is also keen to involve the wider community and one of the projects being encouraged is to sign up bell-ringers – more than 20 had joined by the end of the meeting.

“The church is at the heart of the local community and we want it to be inclusive and to the benefit of everyone in the area. That involvement is key,” added committee secretary Maggie Campbell.

Bell expert Ian Hastilow, from the St David’s Diocese, gave a brief history of the bells and the work that would be required to bring them and the bell tower back to life and what would be required to train potential bell-ringers.

He described the layout at St Brynach as “quite unique” and said the intention would be to restore the six existing bells and add two more, with help from the Keltek Trust and also involving a bell that had been removed from Goodwick Church.

“Unfortunately the bell frame has seen better days. Imagine it as a piece of furniture and unfortunately the weather has got in there and there is dry rot. It will be replaced by a galvanised steel frame” said Mr Hastilow.

“The bells themselves will need cleaning and re-tuning but there is nothing wrong with the metal.”

Asked for a timeframe for all the improvements, subject to finance, he said the project could be completed in 18 months to two years.

The scheme has the support of local Pembrokeshire county councillor Mike James, who attended the meeting and said: “Nevern church is so important in the area and it was great to see so many people from the local community supporting the project.”