CHURCH bells will ring out across a National Trust site near Pershore for three hours to celebrate the life and work of the parklands’ famous landscape designer.
The mammoth peal will take place at St Mary Magdalene Church in Croome on Tuesday (August 30), to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.
Each of the six bells in the tower will have their own bell ringer, who will ring continuously from start to finish with no breaks and to successfully complete the peal, the bells must each be rung to a mathematical pattern of 5,040 changes.
There have only ever been seven full peals rung on the church’s bells in its 360 year history, in 1889, 1970, 1983 and four in 2011.
Mr Brown’s work involved digging up formal gardens, draining marshland to create new lakes and streams and moving an entire village out of sight, including demolishing the church and re-building a new one which now stands at the top of Church Hill.
Paul Smith, the tower master at the church said: “Croome is a very special place. Ever since the bells were restored, in a do-it-yourself project in 2011, they’ve played a big part in the parklands on going transformation.
“It’s an honour for us to mark Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s birth in this way.”
Visitors can hear the bells ringing throughout the parkland from 10.30am to 1.30pm, as well as each Sunday between 2pm and 3pm.
Croome’s park and lakeside are open from 10am to 5.30pm and Croome Court is open from 11am to 4.30pm every day.
Call the National Trust site on 01905 371006 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/croome for more information.
