All Saints’ bells to ring out again

PHOTO: ODT FILES
PHOTO: ODT FILES
Sunday will be a big day at All Saints’ Anglican Church in North Dunedin, with two important events planned — a bell ringing and a concert.

The first will be the blessing and unveiling of a new belfry at All Saints’ hall, following mass at 10.30am.

All Saints’ Church vicar, the Rev Canon Michael Wallace , said the original belfry had been removed more than 60 years ago.

"If anyone out there knows when it was removed and what happened to the bell, we would be very keen to find out."

For many years, All Saints’ had a bell, housed on the church itself in a belfry from 1865-1873, and then either on the church hall or in a freestanding structure, until its removal.

The decision to reinstate was made by the parish a couple of years ago.

"The parish commissioned builder Peter Mason to design a belfry along the lines of the original one and reinstate it."

All Saints had been able to install the bells from the former St Stephen’s Church, in Hampden, and the former St Chad’s Church, in Middlemarch, in the restored belfry.

"At the end of mass on Sunday, the belfry will be blessed and the bells will sound again," he said.

Musical highlights from 2024 will feature in a "Music at All Saints"’ concert, at 2pm on Sunday at the church.

The concert will feature All Saints’ senior organist and Dunedin City Organist David Burchell, the All Saints’ Choir and the Selwyn College Choral Scholars, conducted by All Saints’ director of music John Buchanan.

The event will raise funds for the Tim Hurd Music endowment, which aims to enable and support music at All Saints into the future. Hurd was a singer and composer, as well as the vicar from 2002-09.